Academics Before School – How Introducing Children’s Literature Should Be The First Step Towards Education

The first day of school has different memories imprinted in us, whether it is the fear of leaving our parents or the excitement of being in a new place alone. However, the one thing that stood the test of time in academia.

The beginning of one’s education journey and the realization of it is never-ending. Yes, one learns a lot in these early years of education, but try telling a child that!

They are yet to grow a conscience about what is good for them. They want to spend more time doing things that bring them joy. Once the tag of daily homework follows school, academia is no longer a matter of joy.

However, this idea probably stems from education being ambushed out of nowhere. Therefore, offering them the joy of reading is important before they start doing it for exams.

In this excerpt below, we will discuss the importance of children’s books and why you should encourage reading before schooling begins.

Start Of Academia & Its Challenges

Upon asking a few parents, here are the top challenges they could recall when their child finally started understanding the obligation behind studying.

• They will start having repulsive actions when asked to sit with their school books.
• Beyond lackluster with the idea of studying, your simple word of mouth won’t be enough to inspire them.
• The lack of interest often distracts them, not allowing them to fully concentrate on the lessons.
• Sending them to school after a few weeks is becoming a nuisance.

These are common, and there is no foolproof plan to prevent them. However, introducing to academia before academic life starts can help prevent a few of these challenges.

How To Overcome These Challenges Through Children’s Literature

Here is how you can overcome the above-mentioned challenges by introducing them to children’s literature in beautifully illustrated physical copies.

1. A Sense Of Ownership

Gifting your child storybooks can bring about a sense of ownership in them. Reading them more can help them understand the reason behind their own and preserve them well. Provide them with interesting stories with great illustrations.

This will also provoke interest in reading them. Essentially making them excited about getting their textbooks as well.

2. The Practise Of Reading

This practice will continue if they start reading as a leisure activity, without the stress of homework. When they finally get to their studying phase from reading, they will find less difference between the two activities.

Plus, you should allow them to read their story books within the academic reading, allowing them to delve into both equally. Allow them to have a shelf, and encourage them to stack their owned storybooks and school textbooks.

This will make them treat them as just another book to read.

3. Helps Build Concentration

Rather than exposing them to digital mediums with moving pictures, better give them books with good illustrations. The lack of constant distraction and stimulation from these books helps the child remain concentrated on the task for a longer period.

This overall helps them to study and understand the lessons better when it is finally time to learn for academic excellence.

4. Helps Improve Cognitive Skills

Academic skills are not the only element that helps a child’s smooth transition in their school life. It is also curiosity, imagination, perception, and conscience which help them comprehend their new reality sooner and solve problems better.

Through the stories and illustrations, the child can give wings to their imagination, feed their curiosity, and solve problems with their newfound knowledge.

5. They Can Act As Inspiration

You can invest in good kids books online that show stories of friendship, classes, and social lessons learned in school. Bonus, if the story talks about fighting evil which is preventing the child from going to school.

At the age of imitation, they are more likely to follow in the footsteps of a character who loves to attend school.

Start Early!

Encourage your child to start reading books early on. This also helps in language comprehension and pronunciation, which is very much important for articulating thoughts and feelings in school.

Find the books with the best illustrations to tweak their interest.

Visual children’s book clubs give them the window to meet new companions with the same interest.

Sit for immersive storytelling from these books with your child.

These are some of the proven ways you can amplify their interest in reading!