Why You Need a School or Nursery Reading Corner

Reading CornersAndrew Hall
Why You Need a School or Nursery Reading Corner
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Teachers have an invaluable opportunity to help little ones develop positive associations with reading in their formative years. This willingness and excitement to pick up a book give them vital skills and disciplines that, in later life, will help them to participate in school learning activities actively. Not only this, but toddlers will find it easier to develop vocabulary, imaginative skills, and essential traits like patience and independence.

It’s true that no bad will ever come from giving your students access to a reading corner. So why not set one up in your nursery? Read our blog to learn more about why reading corners are essential and what makes a successful one.

Reading nurtures a natural enjoyment of learning.

One of the primary reasons to give your students access to reading material is because the act of reading encourages them to enjoy and feel familiar with learning situations. According to Reading Agency, only 35% of children aged ten were reported to enjoy reading “very much”. Reading Agency also said that 18% of 15-year-olds in England and Scotland do not have the minimum level of reading proficiency recommended by the UK Government for that age.

It becomes a challenge to change this thinking pattern later in childhood. This lack of reading enjoyment can stem from the early adoption of a positive attitude to reading in nursery and early primary school.

Teaching kids to look forward to reading, enjoy the act, and take the initiative to pick up and select books also gives them important associations with education. This behaviour helps them develop personality traits like curiosity, open-mindedness, and proactivity that become important in and out of school later down the line.


 

Encouraging the use of a reading corner builds confidence.

The classroom reading corner should be treated as a space that belongs to the classroom as a whole: teacher and students. This approach encourages the children to think of it as their own space for use and care for. Your students should feel free to go into the reading corner when you’re not in the middle of a lesson and pick out books they want to read, or carry out activities.

Using group activities like adding their own contribution to the reading corner wall display gives your students a positive feeling that they have contributed to the space and a sense of pride that their work is on display. 

Promoting cleaning and tidying in the reading corner helps teach your students about respecting a shared space and the importance of accountability. Build your classroom reading corner to allow your students to do all of these things, and it will lead to a significant boost in confidence.

A reading corner doubles as a calm, quiet space.

Your nursery room must be versatile and adaptable for all activities. If you’re a nursery teacher or TA, you know that tears, tantrums, and over-excitement are everyday occurrences. Your cosy reading corner can easily double as a space for quiet downtime, whether it’s a time-out, a quick nap, or just somewhere to calm down and get back to normal.

With soft furnishings like cushions, bean bags, a thick classroom carpet or even a sem-enclosed structure like the Forest Reading Den, the reading corner is the ideal environment to reduce stimulation, slow down, and regroup. If you have children in your class with learning disabilities, consider adding a sensory colour-changing light to your reading corner.



You need to consider accessibility, comfort, productivity, and imagination when furnishing the space for your students. Find lots of advice for reading corner nursery furnishing in our blog.

Creating a space dedicated to books reinforces respect and appreciation for literature.

Reading is essential to nursery school, but your reading corner isn’t just there to give kids easy access to books. A special space dedicated to reading teaches young children something important: that books and literature should be respected and protected. 

In a world where books have been banned and even burned throughout history, even with the prevalence of the internet and digital learning, we must teach children that books are a valuable source of history, education, and the product of someone’s hard work. Using a reading corner helps children associate this importance with keeping the space clean and tidy and safely putting the books away on the shelves after reading.



Consult our expert blog for unique, creative, and easy-to-follow nursery reading corner ideas to decorate your space to help your students foster a love of books.

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