Mem Fox’s Ten Read Aloud Commandments
1. Spend
at least ten wildly happy minutes every single day reading aloud.
2. Read at least three stories a day: it may be the same story three times.
Children need to hear a thousand stories before they can begin to learn to
read.
3. Read aloud with animation. Listen to your own voice and don’t be dull, or
flat, or boring. Hang loose and be loud, have fun and laugh a lot.
4. Read with joy and enjoyment: real enjoyment for yourself and great joy for
the listeners.
5. Read the stories that the kids love, over and over and over again, and
always read in the same ‘tune’ for each book: i.e. with the same intonations on
each page, each time.
6. Let children hear lots of language by talking to them constantly about the
pictures, or anything else connected to the book; or sing any old song that you
can remember; or say nursery rhymes in a bouncy way; or be noisy together doing
clapping games.
7. Look for rhyme, rhythm or repetition in books for young children, and make
sure the books are really short.
8. Play games with the things that you and the child can see on the page, such
as letting kids finish rhymes, and finding the letters that start the child’s
name and yours, remembering that it’s never work, it’s always a fabulous game.
9. Never ever teach reading, or get tense around books.
10. Read aloud every day because you just love being with your child, not
because it’s the right thing to do. This is as important for fathers as it is
for mothers!
