Bedtime Stories

As a child, I would love to fall asleep hearing my parents read me a book. I felt safe and it felt like the natural way to fall asleep after hearing stories of princesses or nursery rhymes. It is natural for children to develop literacy skills when a parent or caretaker reads to them. According to the article, "What no bedtime story means", children learn certain customs, beliefs and skills from written materials. Bedtime story reading is a preparation for the kinds of learning and displays of knowledge expected when the children go to school. When parents read to their children not only are they bonding with their children but they are also teaching them morals and values. It is evident from watching the bedtime stories on YouTube in both English and Russian that bedtime stories not only help children become literate but they also teach life lessons. In The Little Toot and the Loch Ness monster the tug boat and the monster become friends despite what others say about the monster. It also shows bravery and true friendship. In the story of the Four Friends in Russian it seems that these four animals a deer, crow, turtle and mouse are good friends even though they are very different, they save each others lives from the hunters. Bedtime stories no matter what language they are in are similar because they help children expand their vocabulary through sight words and pronunciation when someone is reading to them. They also help children predict and recall events from the story. Children can also understand and use their imagination through the pictures and the way the reader is telling the story through his or her voice. I do not speak Russian but I understood what was going on by just looking at the pictures and words and their use of punctuation. After viewing it in Russian I watched it in Spanish and Italian so I could understand the specific details of what they were actually saying. Therefore, it is very important for children to have stories read to them every day or night so they will become successful readers and do well in school.