“Children are made readers in the laps of their parents.” Emilie Buchwald

On Thursday night, the Sawle Centre came alive with stories, as parents shared their favourite childhood books with their daughters as the Centre held it’s inaugural Parent Daughter Reading Night.

To tie in with the Book Week theme for this year Find Your Treasure, parents in Years 5  to 7 were invited to bring along a treasured book from their childhood and share the book with their daughter. To ensure this book remains a treasure for their daughters, parents wrote messages to their daughters in the cover of the book. The girls came dressed in their PJ’s and enjoyed a hot chocolate and marshmallows whilst sharing an adventure with their parents. This evening is hoped to be the start of night time ritual for families as they continue to share and create memories through reading.

The parents and their daughters received guidance on their next book to read, by scanning QR codes that revealed a book review from Years 7 and 8 Literacy students. Students and parents were able to check out books on the night to continue their reading adventure. We also demonstrated the Ebooks available which both students and parents are able to borrow through their devices.

We are all aware of the benefits of reading to our children when they are young, however it is very important that our teenagers continue to read for pleasure. It is proven that teens who read for enjoyment expand their vocabularies and also broaden their imaginations. Reading for pleasure is also a strategy to allow teenagers to relax and escape any of their concerns.

“You can find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax all you need is a book” Dr Seuss