A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

Books that have no words, just beautiful pictures, invite you and your child to use your imagination and make up your own stories.

What you need:

Wordless picture books (Example: Do You Want To Be My Friend? by Eric Carle.)
Old magazines
Safety scissors
Construction paper
Glue or glue stick

What to do:

The first activities in the list below work well with younger children. As your child grows, the later activities let her do more. But keep doing the first ones as long as she enjoys them.

1. Look through the whole book with your child. Ask her what she thinks the story is about. Tell the story together by talking about each page as you both go through the book again.

2. Ask your child to identify objects, animals, or people on each page. Talk with her about them and ask her if they are like real life.

3. Have your child tell another child or family member a story using a wordless picture book. Doing this will make her feel like a "reader" and will encourage her to continue learning to read.

4.Have your child create her own picture books with her drawings or pictures you help her cut from magazines.

Using wordless picture books can help improve your child's language skills and spark her imagination.

Source: Helping Your Child Become a Reader, U.S. Department of Education