24 January was International Education Day, and 5 February celebrated World Read Aloud day. Reading aloud to children is indeed one of the best things we can do for their development and future academic success. Children with a bigger vocabulary understand what they read better, and also learn new information more easily. Young children whose parents read to them five times daily will hear nearly 1.5 million more words by the time they turn five than children whose parents or caregivers don’t read to them, according to a study by The Ohio State University.
Prince Albert Municipal Library hosted a read aloud morning with Grade R-3 learners from Kweekvallei Kollege and Albert College on 6 February 2025 to celebrate the day and help instill a love of reading in our children. Reinie Smit, John Steyn, Nell Kruger, Charlien van Zyl and myself took turns to entertain the children with stories and poems, complete with character voices and lots of dramatisation. Mr Steyn had the children spellbound with his tale about the “bokkies en die wrede wolf”!
Thank you so much to everyone who made it a fun and memorable experience for our children. In the words of Dr. Seuss: “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”
