For the love of reading!

It’s World Book Day today so we’re thinking about reading, stories, books, and literacy! Here at The Outdoors Group we LOVE nothing more than curling up with a good book and particularly at The Outdoors School, this is something that we want to pass onto our learners. A good story transports you to another world, it inspires, it occupies, it engages, it informs, it entertains. Regardless of your age, gender, race, or background, reading is an amazing activity that we can all access and enjoy.

“Reading for pleasure is the single biggest factor in success later in life, outside of an education. Study after study has shown that those children who read for pleasure are the ones who are most likely to fulfil their ambitions. If your child reads, they will succeed – it’s that simple.”

Bali Rai, Author

But why is this the case?

The benefits of reading to children are many and a quick google will throw up list after list and study after study explaining what they are. They include (but are not limited to!) promoting language development, helping with their attention spans, bonding between the reader and listener, increased listening skills, expanding vocabularies, helping with their own imagination, and building self esteem and self confidence.

A particularly lovely and research based article from The Literacy Trust says “By starting the journey of building a lifelong love of reading for pleasure, parents are giving their child the opportunity to be the best they can be: children who read for pleasure do better in a wide range of subjects at school and it also positively impacts children’s wellbeing.”

A story a day…

Incorporating reading into your daily routine with your kids is a great habit to adopt and if you’re not already doing it, why not give it a go? If finances are an issue, access your local library to discover a wealth of new stories that you can share with your little ones or why not organise a book swap with some friends to share your favourite stories with each other?

Reading daily is a great way to calm down at the end of a busy day, to spend some quality time together and can even be used as a way to explore big life events or difficult topics. The Book Trust has got a great free Bookfinder resource if you’re not sure where to start or ask at your local library or at your kids school if you need some help with what to read.

So Happy World Book Day folks – don’t get too stressed about the costume and instead, enjoy curling up with your kids tonight with a good book – why not tell us what you’re reading with them at the moment in the comments!

Author: Hannah Durdin, Content Officer & Forest School Leader

Date: Thursday 2nd March 2023