A very special time between you and the children in your life is when you read to them. I loved reading to my kids when they were little. I remember starting to read to them as soon as they were able to sit next to me. It was so much fun to have them cuddle next to me. Before they could talk, they would point at pictures with a questioning look in their eyes wondering what it was. That was over 40 years ago. Research is now stressing how important it is to read to infants. If I had realized how important it is to even read to babies, I definitely would have done that.
Have You Heard About the 1.4 Million Word Gap?
I was blown away when I read the article The Importance of Reading to Kids Daily written by Jeff Grabmeier on The Ohio State University College of Education and Human Ecology website about a study that found young children whose parents read to them five books a day enter kindergarten having heard about 1.4 million more words than kids who were never read to. By doing something so simple as reading to them those kids heard more than a million words! Can you imagine the head start those kids are receiving for their education? This “million word gap” could be one key in explaining differences in vocabulary and reading development, said Jessica Logan, lead author of the study and assistant professor of educational studies at The Ohio State University.
If a parent or caregiver can only read to the children one book a day, the kids will hear about 290,000 more words by age 5 than those who aren’t read to regularly.
Even though the preschool that I was a volunteer reader for was considered an “at risk school” it was stressed that the teachers read five books a day to the kids.
How About Using a Sheep or Lamb Puppet While Reading a Book That Features Those Animals?
In addition to the benefits of reading to kids, adding the use of a puppet, even a simple felt hand puppet, encourages children to become more engaged. They become captivated and immersed in the story with the aid of the visual element of the puppet. The reader can even add auditory stimulation by using different voices. All of this “playing” even has benefits for the reader because it brings shared laughter, positive interaction and joy.
A simple felt hand puppet like the one made from our free Sheep Felt Hand Puppet Pattern can bring a book alive. A puppet also helps to act out stories, characters, and scenes from books. This encourages imaginative play and creative thinking. Puppets are an excellent tool for developing listening and attention skills.
The pattern includes material and supply list along with instructions. To save paper the pattern pieces are at the end of the instructions so that you only have to print out the pattern. Then you can read instructions on a device. Whether you sew or hot glue it together, you will have a puppet ready to play in a short time!
Some of My Favorite Books While Being a Volunteer Reader at a Preschool
Here is just a short list of some the more popular books with the preschool crowd when I was a volunteer reader. I never knew what would be popular, so I would always take quite a few to cover all of my bases. Which of these would your kids like?
Sheep in a Jeep has fun rhyming with great colorful pencil drawings. A mob of sheep take off with the farmer’s jeep and by the time they are done….so is the jeep. It is fun to extend the story with felt pieces. Written by Nancy Shaw and illustrated by Margot Apple. For ages 4 and up, preschool to 3rd grade.
Sheep Dog and Sheep Sheep by Eric Barclay is so much fun to read. It is a cute story about a sheep who thinks she is a pro at guarding the herd. Until one day she bumps into a sheep dog who has been doing the actual guarding. The illustrations are just adorable. For ages 4-8, preschool to 3rd grade.
Lily Wool is a story about a little lamb being true to herself. Using her imagination and creativity she is able to fix things. As she helps others, she ultimately finds her special place in the flock. Written by Paula Vasquez. For ages 3-8, preschool to 3rd grade.
For babies and young preschoolers Sheep Go to Sleep makes a wonderful bedtime book. The illustrations are soft yet colorful. The story is in rhyme which is soothing. Written by Nancy E. Shaw and illustrated by Margot Apple – they also wrote Sheep in a Jeep. It’s a board book which will hold up with little fingers.
Seedlings: Sheep is another book in the popular Seedlings series. Written by Quinn M. Arnold. For ages 4-6, preschool to 1st grade. It is written for the younger audience with simple text and beautiful glossy pictures. There is a simple glossary in the back of the book.
Get Your Free Download of a Sheep Felt Hand Puppet Pattern Now!
Don’t have the time to sew a puppet? Need a puppet fast? We have a free download of a pattern for the simple and cute horse hand puppet shown above. The pattern includes material and supply list along with instructions. To save paper the pattern pieces are at the end of the instructions so that you only have to print out the pattern. Then you can read instructions on a device. Whether you sew or hot glue it together, you will have a puppet ready to play in a short time!
More Free Felt Patterns!
Do you need different animal or people puppets? Check out our Free Felt Pattern page.
Need a puppet with a moving mouth and make expressions? We’ve got the pattern!
Need a puppet that can talk and make facial expressions? You can sew one with our Sheep Puppet Sewing Pattern. The pattern is available as a digital download so you can start sewing immediately. We recommend using fleece and felt fabrics because they are inexpensive, readily available from craft stores, washable and easy to sew. Customers tell us how easy our step by step patterns (with lots of pictures) are to follow especially after watching the video tutorials. In fact you can watch our free video tutorial on how to sew the sheep puppet right now!
What our customers are saying:
“Very detailed step-by-step instructions with color photos. Can’t wait to get all the supplies and make this puppet.”
“The puppets turn out really well and are a joy to use!”
