Did you know that stuffed animals can actually enhance literacy skills?
Stuffed animals have an amazing way of making children feel comfortable and safe. They not only make children express complex emotions, but also help them to gain greater control over their world.
When children read with stuffed animals they not only increase literary skills , but also reading motivation, imagination and language/vocabulary acquisition.
This week we’ve partnered with YOTTOY Productions, Inc. to promote the importance of using stuffed animals as valuable reading tools.
YOTTOY Productions, Inc. is a woman owned and operated company based in NYC. It was born in 1995 with a mission to create exceptional book character toys (that range from backpacks, tea sets etc). YOTOY is on a mission to instill a love of reading in little ones, as well as meaningful play experiences with toys based on favorite books.
This means that YOTTOY Productions, Inc. has some amazing opportunities for littles ones to snuggle up next to their favorite book characters ranging from Madeline, Corduroy and Frog and Toad!
For this post, I’ve put together three easy ways to use stuffed animals to increase reading motivation:
Reading Don’t Let Pigeon Drive the Bus with our beloved Pigeon
Hook Em
Find a stuffed animal related to a favorite toy or book! For example, if your child loves the Mo Willem’s Piggie and Elephant series, purchase the stuffed animal set and put it alongside a basket of Piggie and Elephant Books! It can also be as simple as finding a stuffed toy bird and filling a basket with non-fiction books about springtime or different types of birds.
Reading Party
Host a reading stuffed animal party! Have each guest bring over a beloved stuffed animal and their favorite book! Encourage children to read to their animals and swap books. Serve a book themed snack! Another idea would be to have a park picnic with animals prearranged, so that when children show up stuffed animals are already paired up with their favorite book to read with them.
Car Reading
If you have a car book basket, add in a few stuffed animals. Have your child select a stuffed animal to read to their stuffed animal on car ride. Remember to rotate books and stuffed animals to keep things interesting!
Tell me your suggestions for using stuffed animals as reading tools in the comments section!
As always, follow my on Instagram for news about our latest reading adventures and pin the image below!
