READING with kids is about connection as much as literacy, according to storytime proponents, and this morning a couple dozen kids in Tamworth connected with thousands across Australia.
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National Simultaneous Storytime was held at the Guyra Library, where children heard the story The Cow Tripped Over the Moon.
Meanwhile, the same was happening in libraries, preschools, schools and homes nationally, which Ms Smith said was “pretty exciting”.
“It encourages the love of reading and that closeness with your child,” she said.
Guyra schools including St Mary of the Angels, Black Mountain and Guyra Central School participated in the event – with hundreds of thousands of children tuning-in from libraries, schools, pre-schools , childcare centres, family homes and bookshops across Australia.
“Some children go to school and they can’t even turn a page in a book, so it’s developing those early literacy skills, but also it’s developing a bond between a parent and a child, too,” South Tamworth library assistant Jacqueline Smith said.
“It’s a way of getting together and doing something that’s pleasant and enjoyable, and children can carry that through to when they’re adults.”
She encouraged people to start reading to their children from birth.
“Anything is great. If you’re enjoying it, the children will enjoy it as well.”
This is the 17th annual National Simultaneous Storytime, which is co-ordinated by the Australian Library and Information Association.
In 2016, more than 520,000 children at more than 3500 places across Australia took part.