Recently, we enjoyed our annual Scholastic Book Fair. It’s as much fun as any party … even for preschoolers!

Here’s why: browsing books together – while exclaiming about this or that title – helps children know how much you value reading.

Preschoolers care what grownups think. They imitate us. So they get excited, too.

My teacher associate and I take all 20 preschoolers to the fair (it’s in the back of our parish hall). To help ensure good behavior, we match each preschooler with an older child. It helps everyone behave perfectly!

(We do this at Mass, too.)

(If for whatever reason we can’t have older students, I take 4 preschoolers at a time.)

After browsing a while, we create wish lists for the children’s parents.

Then, when the parents come for Parent-Teacher Conferences, they can shop at the book fair for their kids!

Reading is critical for brain development. Kids who are read to enjoy a larger vocabulary, and can count to 20, write their names and read for themselves earlier than kids who are not read to.

Reading to a child opens doors that might otherwise remain locked. Thank you, Scholastic Book Fair and the Grace Parents who make it happen for us. You just may have unlocked the world. ❤