Share A Story Month 2024
This month is National Share A Story Month, organised by the Federation of Children’s Book Groups. It’s a celebration of the power of storytelling and story sharing, and an all-round brilliant initiative that encourages reading.
Why Read?
Reading is for everyone – regardless of age – and it has such massive benefits for little ones. It’s difficult to carve out uninterrupted one-on-one time with them, away from buzzing phones, loud siblings and the general level of mayhem that reigns in most busy family households.
But reading is the best way to build confidence, expand vocabulary, feed the imagination, foster empathy and have fun together. Yet fewer than half of 0-2 year olds are read to every day or nearly every day, and a staggering 400,000 little ones in the UK don’t have books at home.
So, if there’s one thing to make time for today, it’s to sit down and read together.
How to get involved
The theme of this year’s Share A Story Month is ‘a feast of stories’, a celebration of food, wondrous creations and delicious delectables that we find in stories. From cream buns to hot chocolates, magical pizzas to fizzing drinks and everything in between.
We love this theme as it reminds us how authors invoke all the senses in their stories – from delicious smells wafting from an oven to the design of sugary sweets, the sounds of whipped cream being sprayed on a hot chocolate, and the feeling of fizzy drinks on the tongue.
The options are endless – there are so many wonderful tales to fire up the imagination – so if it’s all a bit baffling, there’s a list of recommended reading that spans from toddlers to teens. How many of these have you read with your little ones?
Explorers+ classes often have a story to introduce new ideas to children
Read with us
Reading is very much part of the Gymboree Play & Music experience. Story time plays a key role in our Pre-schooler Family Play, Explorers Plus and Pre-school Steps classes, and is a lovely way to bring a busy, fun-filled class to a close.
We aim to gently guide little ones towards school readiness, working to a custom-designed curriculum that challenges your little one as they grow.
Above all, it’s about coming together as a class and having fun. So you can expect some great stories in class this month.
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr Seuss
