We’ve joined a fun creative movement over on instagram (@mamawrites) to inspire book based play in little readers! Let’s get our kids excited about books through fostering stronger connections to reading. My girls love to play and to read, so why not combine these two loves and have a whole lot of fun?

We used one of our all-time favourite books, Dr. Suess’s Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? We were gifted this book at Vienna’s baby shower and it quickly became a favourite for both girls. They love the silly rhymes and sounds, and are quick to join in and read along! You can tell how well loved this book is by the tattered corners– it’s been packed along in the diaper bag for years now as a quick and fun distraction while on the go.

We put our listening and sound making skills to the test with a fun, bookish play game all about sound. This game requires no new materials, so you can easily put it together on the spot! 😉

YOU NEED:

• A variety of items that make sound- little animal figurines, musical toys, or even items from your kitchen pantry will work!
• A paper bag or a container/bag that you cannot see through
• A book with noises, animals, etc.
• That’s it!

TO PLAY:

Collect a variety of items from around the house that make noise. Place all of the items in a brown paper bag. Next, sit together and invite the kids to close their eyes! My girls loved the excitement of having to close their eyes! Pull the items out of the bag one at a time and make the sound of the item while the kids guess who or what makes it! Remember, no peeking!

To incorporate a variety of skill levels choose different types of items based on each child’s age. For our two year old we used animal figurines and cars. For our four year old we used things like coins jingling together or a salt shaker, she loved the challenge!

Make sure you mix it up and let the kids play the role of picking items and making the sounds. Our 4 year old especially loved doing this for her little sister (and for Mom too! 😉 )

We hope this post inspires you to get engaged in reading through play! Check out our Little Library section for our favourite children’s books! xo