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 Horse Puppet While Reading a Book That Features Horses?
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 Horse 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?
There are only two instructions when friends give Roy a saddle for his birthday. “1. Find a horse. 2. Enjoy the ride.” Problem is – Roy doesn’t know what a horse is. Readers follow Roy on his quest to find a horse. Are You a Horse? by Andy Rush is a fun book to read with an ending that will give everyone a giggle. For ages 4-8, preschool to 3rd grade.
A Cowgirl and Her Horse by Jean Ekman Adams is a sweet picture book about a cowgirl (a pink pig) and her best friend – her horse. There are so many things a cowgirl has to do to take care of her horse. She has to protect him from rattlesnakes, she can’t forget his birthday, and she must help him write letters to his mother. In turn, he will take her up mountains, down trails, and over rainbows. This is a fun book to read and the illustrations are adorable. For ages 4-7, preschool to 2nd grade.
Clip-Clop by Nicola Smee is for ages 2-4 years but even the five year olds enjoy listening to it. One by one the farmyard animals ask for a ride on Mr. Horse and continue to ask for him to go faster and faster until they all fall off in the haystack. Of course, they all ask to go “again!” It’s fun to use a pair of old horseshoes to illustrate the clip-clop sound. Which then leads to a learning moment about horse shoes.
Horses (Seedlings) by Quinn M. Arnold has simple text and colorful pictures to introduce horses to the younger set. For preschool to 1st grade. The book could also be read to kids as young as one because the pictures are wonderful.
Get Your Free Download of a Horse 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!
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 Horse 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 horse 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!”
More Free Felt Patterns!
Do you need different animal or people puppets? Check out our Free Felt Pattern page.