Some kids are born readers, and others- not so much. Thankfully my kids all love books and reading, but with all of their friends and electronic distractions, I find them reading less and less. Having taught for seven years, I know how important it is to make sire your children are reading every single day, so I am always making it a point to be sure they are. Some days re easier than others though, but I have figured out a few ways to make it easier. These 5 tricks to get your children to read more can be allied to any age child and are really a simple way to be sure they are picking up a book at least once during the day!!
Pick books THEY like…
Children are far more likely to read books that they are interested in, so be sure to have some about whatever their current favs are. Whether is’s Lego books, science books, comic books or fiction novels- be sure to have some laying around. Even though we have a zillion books already, we still make a trip to the local library every two weeks to swap out the current books they are reading for some new ones so we are always having a basket of new and exciting ones.
But offer a variety of genres
Each trip to the library, the kids pick out the books they want, but then I always grab a few more. I like to snag some beginning readers for my youngest and some nonfiction for my older ones. Even though my oldest is currently enthralled with the Harry Potter series, it’s still good to have some other genres laying around, just incase the mood strikes her to want to read something different. Sometimes kids don’t even know they’d find a particular type of book interesting, until they are given the chance to read it!
Allow more access to books
The more books you have around, the more likely your child is to pick it up and read it. We keep the majority of our books in the playroom in the basement, but they each have some in there bedrooms too. Then we also have a basket in the living room, in the bathrooms and the car- so whenever they feel like reading, there’s a book nearby!
Make a challenge
Kids love challenges, so why not challenge them to read?? You can do the total number of books, or minutes read. They can complete against themselves, their siblings or you! Make it exciting and your kids will be begging to read!
Schedule it
I live by my planner and use it to keep my whole life in order- if you are like me, then you should probably schedule in some reading time, so it doesn’t get missed! My kid’s bedtime is 8:30, but we try and be in bed at 8:00 on school nights so they can read in bed for 30 minutes. Each child has a flashlight and a pile of books by their bed that they can pick from to get their nightly reading in. Once you make it a habit, your kids will begin to look forward to this every night (or day!)
One sure fire way to get your kids to read more is to offer a selection of beautifully written and illustrated books. If your books have been well loved and it’s time to shop for some new ones, consider skipping the big box store and shopping small over at Creative Story Time. Creative Story Time offers a huge selection of award-winning, independent published children’s books from Barefoot Books. By combining beautiful artwork with captivating storytelling, these books capture the natural imagination of children, spark curiosity, and inspire creativity. They have a wide variety of books that cover cultural, social and ecological diversity too, which is always a great thing to introduce children to! They even have gifts that go with many of the books from puzzles, games, and puppets to music CDs, books with singalong songs and story CD that promote collaboration and building vocabulary, listening, and memory skills.
They have books for all aged kids, to brightly colorful board books for babies, to interactive ones for toddlers and some chapter book series for older kids. Books always make the perfect gift for birthdays and the holidays too, so this is a fantastic time of year to shop. We recently received some books from them and I was SO impressed with them! My kids just love the stories and themes and the illustrations are gorgeous. So, when you are shopping for your kids, remember that new books are the gift that keep on giving. Check out how simple it is to order with them online and read up on what new titles they have in stock!
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