Storytelling with kids vs. reading to kids

Storytelling with kids vs. reading to kids - what's the difference?

When my big kiddo (now he's 9) was born, I spent a lot of time researching and looking for inspiration on kids rooms design. I was particularly moved by a photo of a nursery with reading corner: narrow shelves with beautiful board books on them, and above them big letters saying "READ TO ME".

That was exactly was I intended to do: I was going to read to my child. And I did. I started reading to him from the day he was born (well, maybe I waited for when we brought him home), and I has been reading to him ever since.

But my kid had a mind of his own, and soon enough he was participating in the reading activity in ways that I didn't anticipate. He chewed on some of the books (the most funny example was him chewing on "The very hungry cuterpillar", a book that tells about a caterpillar that... well, chews through a lot of things). He wanted to read books in certain order, not necessarily the one intended by the author. He wasn't interested in some books I suggested, and wanted to read something else instead. In short, he wanted *active* participation.

Today I would replace "read to me" to "tell stories with me". These are some of the differences between the two activities:

- "Reading to" someone implies that the listener is passively listening. "Telling with" someone implies active participation.

- "Reading to" defines distinct and different roles for adult and child, reader and listener. In storytelling, adult and child are equal participants. They both have stories to tell and to share.

- Every reading of the same book can be the same. Every story is different, even if it's based on the same book/prompt.

- Reading to is wonderful. I love it. There's nothing like a good book! "Telling with", sharing our stories, allows us to really connect with our kids.

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