Reading aloud supports early childhood development
Promoting reading is a fixed part of everyday life at globegarden centers.
Reading aloud regularly supports children in their development. At the same time, parents often lack the time for it. That makes it all the more important for childcare centers to make reading aloud an institution: according to the current German reading study (Vorlesestudie 2021), children who are read to daily have a larger vocabulary. They also learn to read and write more easily than peers without that experience.
Zurich. Each year the Vorlesestudie examines the state of reading aloud in Germany. For the study titled “Childcare centers as key actors in promoting reading”, 507 pedagogical professionals were surveyed from facilities representative of childcare centers in Germany. “The findings transfer well to Switzerland,” says Silke Bührmann, Director of Pedagogy & Education at globegarden GmbH, the largest supraregional provider of childcare centers and kindergartens in Switzerland.
An established ritual at globegarden
The study’s central findings: in 91 per cent of childcare centers, children are given impulses through stories at least once a day, while at the same time an above-average number of children are not read to at home. Justyna Rutz, regional pedagogical manager at globegarden, comments: “We are aware that parents cannot always muster the same amount of time and energy to read with their children. That is why we have made storytelling and reading aloud a fixed ritual in our centers.”
The supraregional provider takes a twofold approach. On the one hand children are read to as part of everyday life at the center; on the other, parents are made aware of the subject in conversations and supported where needed. “We offer concrete reading tips, for example, or ideas on how reading aloud can be turned into a ritual,” Justyna Rutz explains.
Reading corners should be standard in childcare centers, ideally with a library that holds not only guidance for parents but also selected books that children enjoy. “While reading, children hear stories about strong girls just as much as about boys who cry, and they get to know different cultures,” says Silke Bührmann, describing the possibilities that reading aloud holds.
Encouraging dialogic reading
Many globegarden facilities rely on dialogic reading. The term was coined in 1988 by the American education researcher Grover J. Whitehurst and colleagues. In their studies they found that children who lagged behind their peers in language development were able to make up most of their deficits in a very short time through this form of reading support. Their vocabulary also expanded, and they learned new terms and their meanings. Grammatical structures and language in context were understood. The children’s confidence was strengthened as well.
In dialogic reading, for which the professionals are specially trained, picture books are shown or stories are read aloud. The focus is always on the dialogue with the children, so their questions, comments and impulses are taken up. “It is primarily about children enjoying the exchange, looking for arguments and developing questions,” says Justyna Rutz of globegarden. This supports language development, and thereby makes starting school easier.
The next Swiss Reading Aloud Day takes place on 18 May 2022.
Information on the Vorlesestudie 2021
Book recommendations for children aged 0–6
About globegarden:
The childcare network globegarden is the leading provider of childcare in Switzerland. Over ten years globegarden has built up a diverse network of childcare centers to offer children colourful worlds of learning and living, with quality care, in their earliest years. The range extends from German- and English-speaking nursery and elementary groups through to preschool and kindergarten classes. The educational concept relies on attachment-oriented, child-centred pedagogy and playful learning in everyday life, with the individual potential of each child in focus. An innovative care concept also calls for flexible opening hours without closure periods, because a good childcare center is guided by what is good for the family, not the other way round. Globegarden is therefore not only a wonderful place to grow for thousands of children, more than 800 employees and over 150 apprentices, but also a reliable partner for more than 2,800 parents.
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