When it comes to learning and development of our little ones, one of the most important things we can do is READ! Introducing our kids to books early on will help to enhance their vocabulary, work on memory skills, and help them draw connections on concepts like letters, colors, numbers or animals. When our babes are super young, they may not be the most interested in the board book in front of them, but if you make reading time a consistent part of your daily schedule, they will start to associate reading as a special time with mama, and look forward to doing it!
For infants and toddlers who may not be interested in listening to you read the illustrated version of Harry Potter yet, *sniff* *sob* you can do everyone a favor and reach for your favorite primer off the shelf. What's a primer? I'm so glad you asked! Primers are basically books with few words that help children to associate pictures or shapes or concepts with the words used to describe them. Primers are great for kids this age, because they're not super interested in the plot of a fantastic magical adventure series (YET). Right now, they're doing their best to hold the book and turn the pages, so lets just crawl before we walk, shall we?
When it comes to primer books for your littles, the Baby Cubby has a BUNCH of different options from Spanish to Nonsense that can help your little one learn about the world around them in easy-to-understand, and adorable-to-read books! BabyLit Primers are an absolute staple for any baby's library! Lets not even get me started on how satisfying it is that they are stories we all know, and have grown up with in adorably illustrated board book form, because I could go on all night! They've got every subject under the sun, and they're sure to keep your babe engaged for hours.
Lucy Darling All Aboard Primers all focus on different destinations where your little one will look at beautifully illustrated pictures of Paris, DC, or London while they learn about city life, landscape, or traveling!
You truly cannot go wrong with any of these primers, and we think your little ones will love learning about the world around them by making simple, important connections! Whether you choose BabyLit or Lucy Darling (or both!), here are a couple of reasons why primers are a great starting point for all of your babe's reading, language and overall learning development!
PICTURES
When it comes to board books that draw in our little one's attention, nothing can be more important than easy to distinguish, bright, bold pictures! Both BabyLit and Lucy Darling are going to keep your child (and you, let's be real) hooked with the illustrations of people, places, and things in their primers.
IMAGINATION
One of the best things about primers is even if they're based on a story like The Wizard of Oz or Sense and Sensibility, the vocabulary is so limited, that you can actually let your imagination go wild and "read" a different story every time! Once your babe is a little bit older and they're able to start imaginative play themselves, you'll be able to see their creativity go wild with the story line and just die of happiness.
FOCUSED
Having a simple, specific subject for each primer makes it really easy for you to focus your sweetie's learning. At our house we try to stick to one subject a week, so my 2-yr-old can really get a grasp. One week is colors, one is numbers, one shapes and so on. Primers make your life so much easier, by taking the guesswork out of finding a book that can work into your child's "curriculum." Even if you're not doing any sort of schedule, you can still enjoy the fact that your child can pick up a book and learn about one subject and then move on to the next!
MEMORY
Early on in our children's development, we see a lot of memory development and mimicry. Our babes will start to do things that they have been praised for previously, or if they know they got a good (or bad) reaction from us when doing something they'll keep doing it. We also work with them to remember things like what the doggy says, and where to put the toys away when they're done playing. Primers work the same way! They help our children to remember what pictures they're seeing, and which words we're using to describe them. Then their little minds do the rest of the work, make those connections in the real world, and suddenly you hear them say "tree" when you're out on your walk. By consistently introducing primers when reading to your kids your working on their memory of shapes and pictures, and their vocabulary will blossom!
READING
Because our babes are little and won't be able to read until they start kindergarten (earlier or later for some), it's important to introduce books that they will associate with learning and enjoyment at an early age.