New reading club in Dubai aimed at infants

This content was originally posted in 7DAYS UAE website at: New reading club in Dubai aimed at infants Parents can turn over a new leaf in 2016 at a special book club aimed at young children aged three and under. The Baby Book Club was organised by two young British mums, Azmat Zareen Iqbal and Saira Choudhry, who were looking for a different option for their baby boys. Saira, originally a high school chemistry teacher back in Manchester, explained: “We come from the same education (background) in the UK, where there are a lot of sessions and things you can go to for a one to two year olds, such as storytelling, literacy and numeracy. So we thought to ourselves, why not start something ourselves? “Because we are mums, (both to one-year-old boys) we know what we want and expect from sessions like this.” The pair have come up with a series of popular books that have been enjoyed by generations of young children, including The Rainbow Fish, The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Tiger Who Came To Tea. Don’t expect a simple reading circle, however. There’s more to this session than just words and pictures. Saira said: “Each week is based on a different book, and when they come into the session, it should feel like they have walked into the book. With the first session, which is The Rainbow Fish, it should feel like they are at the beach, so we use sensory things such as lighting, visuals and sound effects because it is very important with young children to keep their attention.” The sessions are all about development as Saira added: “We read the story and then we do two activities. One will be something literacy based so maybe something sensory, like trying to make something out of Play-Doh, and then the other activity will be a handicraft activity. So for example with the Rainbow Fish, we’ll get the kids to enjoy bubbles. Getting them into books early is great for vocabulary and readings skills.” The Baby Book Club will meet at Caboodle, Dubai Mall at 10:30am on Mondays and the Change Initiative at 10am on Wednesdays. For info visit The Baby Book Club on Facebook chris.fraser@7days.ae Read the original story at: New reading club in Dubai aimed at infants