A few of you messaged me last week asking why I didn’t acknowledge World Book Day in my setting. There were plenty of links to free book vouchers for parents and settings, but you didn’t see any dress-up activities, no themed ideas, and certainly no sponsored walks or sessions.
So, why, you ask?
Because I am a professional childminder and for us, books are part of our everyday, not just one special day a year.
We read books every single day in my setting. Books are our constant companions. We visit the library at least once a month, do regular storytelling sessions (with puppets, no less!), and use props inside and outside. Our books are portable , we’ve got special ones to take with us to the woods, in the car, on the beach, or to the park.
There’s something so magical about sitting under an umbrella, in the pouring rain, reading a story about a rainy day. It’s a simple joy, and it’s these everyday moments that shape a love for reading.
Do children need to dress up as their favourite book character? At 1, 2, or 3 years old, are they even aware of who their favourite character is yet? At that age, they may just love certain stories because they’re familiar, because their parents read them over and over. And that’s enough.
Books are important — noisy ones, lift-the-flap ones, sensory ones, cloth ones, water-resistant ones, and everything in between.
I get that somewhere along the way, books became a bit “old-fashioned” and that some parents don’t have time to read to their children as much as they’d like. I’ve seen the stats that 1 in 6 children don’t own their own books. But we also know the science: reading and talking together is the foundation of speech and language development.
The last thing I want to do is make parents feel like they have another thing to do at home. That’s not what I focus on here. Instead, I invite you to think about how reading can be a natural part of your day, every day. Don’t treat it like a token gesture once a year. Weave it into everything you do.
Have books available everywhere. Yes, we all have our special books we can’t leave out, but board books, bath books, cloth books, they can be out all the time. Make your own books for each child, filled with photos of their time with you or their family. Social stories, too all brilliant ways to make reading part of the rhythm of your day.
We’ll never be dressing up here. But we will head to the bookshop for our free book vouchers. They love the chance to pick their own book — it’s a tradition that I’m more than happy to continue.