Summary of article in Billed Bladet #10, 2015.
Written by Marianne Singer.
As you know from previous posts
flowers
Mary attended a conference about developing the language and use of language for children and that incorporates the ReadPlay concept of involving the children in stories they read or have read to them in order to train and teach them to develop their own language and abilities to express themselves.
That includes Mary's own children. The conference was about children aged 0-6 years old but even though both Christian and Bella are older, she uses a modified version of ReadPlay on them. She explained: "Well, I'm no expert in children's language development but I'm very attentive about their language and I'm very much inspired by ReadPlay and the dialogical reading (The word is, I think, so technical and new that it doesn't even exist yet officially in Danish either) which I apply in my personal way at home. You can work out from dialogical reading, so you use repeating and you read in a way to include the children.
And when they get to know the story, you can ask what will happen on the next age. You ask open questions like what does that word mean? So I don't use it in the same way as the pedagogues but I have been inspired to read in another way with my children than I did beforehand". (*)
Mary goes on to explain that she feels her children has a better command of their language now: "They can more clearly express their thoughts, emotions and wishes with words and that makes it easier to solve problems and challenges, but also (easier) to take part in their joy and enthusiasm".
The article also tells us that Bella in particular loves to have one particular story read to her again and again. - Well, something I believe must of us parents are familiar with...
(*) Incorporating things like ReadPlay in the goodnight-reading is fine, but we should also keep in mind IMO that the children in particular love it because it's such a great quality time with their parents and the sense of "comfyness" is more important to them than the actual story. - And it continues into their early teens as well. It's still nice to cuddle into mum or dad and read a story or a chapter aloud to them even though you are a big thirteen year old girl.
- and having a selective memory. 
