A Reading Breakfast at Crossroads School
Parents and children gathered for a morning of great reading and it even featured whimsical nursery rhyme characters.
One morning, along a quite road in Victory Park, everyone’s favourite nursery rhyme characters came to life and found themselves at Crossroads School. These various characters served up some whimsy as the school hosted its Reading Breakfast.
The whole school takes part in this event which takes place once a term. As Tessa Turvey, the school’s marketing manager described, they see it as important that all ages participate as no one is exempted from reading a book or taking some time to do so, and it’s beneficial for everyone.
“The Reading Breakfast was started at Crossroads School to enable parents/guardians or caregivers to spend some quiet time, over a breakfast snack, away from the hustle and bustle of our daily lives to just pause and read. This quality time and modelling is important for children to experience and the recognition that they love this time, means that the intention is actually working,” she said.
Along with this, the day also had the children dress up as their favourite nursery rhyme character. “We had so many different characters appear from Baa-Baa Black Sheep, to Little Miss Muffet, to Mary and her Little Lamb, to the Three Blind Mice.”
Turvey said there are numerous ways that such an experience benefits a child. “First and foremost, it is the emotional connection that one experiences when being together sharing a story, the unseen benefits include the literacy skills like language development through extending vocabulary and building on language structures.
“It also benefits cognitive development, enhancing critical thinking skills, stimulating the imagination, and predictive and reasoning skills. These are just some of the skills that are developed while reading. Given the worrying literacy statistics in South Africa, it cannot be reinforced enough how important reading development is.”
As she sees it, having an interest in reading is not just about school and academics; it is about giving children the tools they need to navigate the world successfully. Reading opens doors to imagination, creativity, and critical thinking – all while encouraging an understanding of different perspectives and develops essential communication skills. By instilling a passion for reading early on, we are setting our children up for a lifetime of learning and growth.
Related article: Love of language Day at Crossroads School
