Make Reading Fun with Helpful Hints from Usborne
Infusing joy into the reading experience can make a powerful impact on how children view reading in their life. Make it something fun; a shared experience filled with wonder and light.
So how do you really raise a reader who loves to snuggle up and dive into a good book? Adding just a few of these ideas into your reading practice is the perfect place to start!
Be Consistent
Set up family reading time each day so your little readers can see YOU reading for fun too. Carving out some time into every day makes reading a part of your daily routine.
Not Just for Bedtime
Sprawl in a hammock together on a sunny day, flip through a cookbook while you search for new recipes, read the rules on a board game; reading can be so much more than the winddown before bed. It is also important to remember that every opportunity to read doesn’t need to be a chapter or story. This is especially true for younger readers. Something as simple as reading signs on a car journey counts!
Get to Know Characters
Reading an entire series is the perfect way to help children invest in characters and see how they grow on their adventures in each story. This can be amplified by letting the child choose the series based on their ability and interests. These stories will become old favourites that you and your little reader will be sure to return to again and again.
Create a Special Reading Space
Set up a cozy corner with comfortable pillows, a blanket fort, flashlights, stuffed animals, and of course… LOTS of books. This special space will welcome readers to curl up and lose themselves in stories again and again. Don’t be afraid to join your kiddos in there sometimes too!
Read Aloud
Sharing a story together can add excitement to any book. Use different voices to bring life to characters. Add pauses for drama and emphasis. Reading aloud makes it possible for you to read titles that might exceed a child’s reading level while still being appropriate for their comprehension. You can also make it a shared reading experience by taking turns reading together with each of you choosing to voice a different character.
Ask Questions and Make Connections
As you are reading, ask questions to help get your child thinking. Have them predict what will happen next or even how they would behave in a certain situation. You can also make connections between situations and characters and real life. Ask how something from the book would make them feel and use it as a starting point for discussion.
These are just a few tips that can start to elevate your child’s love of reading. Leave a comment about how you have found success in your home.