Book activities
If you want to pass to your children your love of books and learning, it is all about being intentional and incorporating book activities along the way, making the learning journey seamless and natural.
Gift a book for a special occasion
We all have significant occasions that matter to us and we mark them with a special gift or experience. Consider marking that important moment in your life with a book, and make it a habit for your children to see you doing so. You could consider getting a loved one a book they would benefit from reading in the new year as a Christmas present, a book about their favorite sport or hobby for their birthday, or a traveling book for the upcoming holidays.
Read more books
Maria Ploumaki Bigler, Kindergarden, personal archive .
“The picture you see on the right is me in kindergarten, reading (or most likely flipping through the pages and looking at the imagery) a book of the series “The woodland folk meet the gnomes” by Tony Wolf. This series inspired my love for purposeful interior design that caters to the people living in the house, and makes their everyday life even more beautiful. I believe that beauty and happiness should be found in simple things we do repeatedly in our lives, and therefore our life itself becomes beautiful. This is a series about animals, yet it inspired my young self into design. To this day, I still remember my mother bringing me the next issue of the series, whilst seated on the floor of my bedroom. I can still feel the excitement and impatience to read the book.”
“Select your children’s books with great care, for the ideas and content will shape some of their beliefs and interests for the years to come, maybe their whole life. Choose books that you love, and your children will cherish having read them in their lifetime. ”
If you would like, you can access the criteria we have developed in how we select books for our book club to help you refine your own.
Get your very own library or bookstore card
A variety of books to explore may not appear as appealing to parents who know what they like, have reading lists, authors they respect, and have learned to be efficient in how they read. Children, however, are only starting to explore books, and a variety will make them marvel, opening the world of options and possibilities for them, and they require the space and time to do so.
Besides libraries, bookstores are a wonderful place for family visits. On a rainy day, when traveling, during the weekend, or between shopping, visit bookstores with your children. Discover new bookstores, find favorite ones in your city and where you vacation, or where the grandparents live. Let their little hands browse books, lift flaps, and become mesmerised by the world opening around them.
Ask friends and family for book recommendations
When you discuss with your close friends, friends in different countries, grandparents, or colleagues, ask them which books they have loved reading with their children. You may be introduced to some titles you had never heard of, discover old classics, or learn about new developments. Books are a good conversation theme, not only you will discover new content and hear other’s stories but your children will be introduced to discussing about books, knowledge and the art of conversation.
Make sure you ask about why they recommend each book, is it maybe a warm memory associated with their childhood, a place or language that is familiar, a story worth told, a rhyme that’s lovely to read, a fun story that gives plenty of laughs in the family, or a teaching worth reading? Listen to the stories around the books your friends, family, and colleagues recommend, and personally research if these books are a good fit for your family. It could be worth it to develop some simple principles about how you choose children’s books in your family, and return to it before making any purchases. You could read here how we have developed our book principles for our book club.
Attend reading events
Local and city libraries, clubs, authors, and bookstores typically organize reading events. If you research in your area you will be able to find such programs, and also annual or monthly event calendars. See which ones you like, with which authors or readers you can better relate to and the languages the events are offered in. In our city of Zürich, as an example, the Pestalozzi Bibliothek offers reading events in a variety of languages from English, German and French to Chinese Mandarin.
Books as party favors, or celebration gifts
“A book is a gift that keeps on giving”, is a well known saying, and it is so for many reasons. Books can have a lasting effect in our lives, instilling values, teaching lessons, reminiscing feelings, or presenting the world from a new or different viewpoint. Gifts range from casual or formal to very personal or seasonal, with each category having their own concerns and limitations from appropriateness to budget.
There is one category of gifts that is most likely foolproof, and that is books. Are you looking for party favors? Look at little books that are often sold as packages. Parents of the other children are probably going to be glad they can have a party favor they can keep at their home. Are you invited to a child’s celebration and you’re not sure what to get them from getting their size right, to their taste, to budget limitations? With books you can choose amongst thousands of titles, paperbacks or hardbacks, a variety of subjects from fun to sophistication and you can buy one or make a little set. If you would like to see the books we love and recommend, you can look at our examples or join our Book Club.
Join our Book Club
If you loved reading our book and engaging with the activities we have developed, you may want to consider becoming a member of our Book Club. The Avriano Book Club is a members only private space where parents who are invested in their children’s education can access our research on children’s picture books in English. In our Book Club you will also find a structured approach on how to develop your children’s library. If the above sounds interesting, you can read more in our Book Club section with examples and subscribe to get notified when our Book Club becomes available.
