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I’ve laws loved reading, loved getting lost in a good book.  The books were filled with pages covered with words, each and every one of them taking me on an adventure. Both my parents read and they passed their love for reading onto me. It is my hope and dream that our children will develop the same appreciation for the books.

I pray that they will learn new things, go on adventures and meet new friends…  all from getting lost in books. Our four children are each at different learning levels, which makes it interesting, challenging but all the more important for us to introduce them to appropriate books.
A close up of a boy.

 

Here are some tips for reading at any age:

1. Infancy:

  • Board books with few words and colorful pictures
  • Objective: introduce new words and cuddling together with a book
  • Discourage chewing on or eating the book
  • Tell a story with simple words from the pictures
  • Read stories to them at night (examples: Relax-a-Bye Baby, Guess how much I love you…)

2. Preschool: 

  • Board books
  • Introduce regular paper books
  • Objective: increase vocabulary by talking about the pictures, identifying colors, shapes and objects
  • Introduce paging through a book
  • Read a quick story and solicit engagement by asking questions about the pictures

3. Kindergarten: 

  • Introduce sight-word-rich books, such as “Bob Books”
  • Read one page aloud, have him repeat, read next page, have him repeat. It may seem that he is just memorizing what you said and copying. But make him follow along by pointing to each word and over time he will start to recognize the written words
  • Find books of interest to your child: a favorite animal or cartoon character

4. Elementary School: 

  • Chapter books, such as the “The Magic Tree House” or “Junie B Jones” series
  • Encourage independent reading every day for a set amount of time. We normally ask Jacob to read 20-30 minutes per day
  • Read aloud from books that are a few levels above your child’s current reading level. Ask him to point to the words as you read, this will introduce him to the next level and challenge his reading skills
  • Encourage activities that will extend a book.  We recently created a book ad with Adobe Spark.  It was a fun way to bring our son’s book to life.   When you create an advertisement for your favorite book, you can then enter it into a contest, where a winner will be chosen each week to win a scholarship.  Find out more here. 

    A woman and a boy sitting in front of laptop computers.
    In addition to personalizing daily reading habits to each of the boys and their respective skill levels, we make sure to all sit down and read at the same time. Having a set reading time helps even the most reluctant readers to understand that all electronics are off and this is the time to read.

Ways you can encourage reading as a family:
1- Read together as a family, every day.
2- Go to the library often to pick out new books.
3- Host a book swap with friends.
4- Talk about a book after you read it.

So as I sit down at bed time to read to the boys, I remind myself that I am fostering their love for learning and reading – even if it is the 57th time I am reading about the dinosaur’s first trip to the dentist!

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Hi there!

I’m Becky, a former elementary school teacher turned certified child development therapist and blogger. I work at home with my husband and together we are raising (and partially homeschooling) our four children in the Carolinas. I love diet coke, ice cream, and spending time with my family.

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14 Comments

  1. Becky, Thank you for letting my guest blog – It is an honor to share on your blog! I hope your kids are off to a great school year with lots of reading adventures!

  2. Such great tips! Especially since I never thought to introduce my 8 month old to books, yet. Now I know how! Thank you, Tove!

  3. I’m a huge bookworm, have been forever. And I think, if anything, I may have pushed too hard to get my kids to read. My mother wasn’t particularly into reading, it just wasn’t her thing. So we didn’t really go to the library that often, and I still remember how incredibly thrilled I was when I discovered the school library and the freedom to take out as many books as possible. My kids are 11, 8, and 4 – and while they all love being read to, none of them are in love with books the way that I was when I was a kid. I’ve learned that I have to back off, a little, the more I push my oldest to read this awesome book I found at the library for her, the more likely she is to not be interested. She reads, but it’s not her go-to activity.

    1. Me, too (with my kids)! I just love knowing that they can pick up a book to read & they can really navigate life so much sooner when they have learned to read.:) Good advice though- maybe I should do the same! 🙂

    2. Our son hated reading… until his genius first grade teacher got him hooked on dinosaur books. She saw that he was fond of dinosaurs, and she was able to spark his interest – it was so awesome to see.
      But I agree with you – you can’t push books on them – you want it to be fun… we have enough things to struggle about! 🙂

      1. Love that a teacher helped that like! I taught & I love to hear stories like this!! 🙂

  4. This is a fantastic post. I have a real love for reading and I am hoping my son inherits it, I am definitely trying!