Are you raising readers? Ask yourself this: Would you consider yourself a “reader”?
I would not have ever considered myself an avid reader until I was in my mid twenties. Once I found the joy in laughing and crying with a good book I was hooked, and to this day I love having a book on my nightstand to read!
My children are still very young and are just trying to learn their letters and how to read but my goal has always been to give them a love of reading that I did not have until later in my life. I wanted to share some of the steps I have taken to show my kids that books are the best way to see the world or have adventures without even having to leave their rooms.
What steps have you taken to raise a generation of readers in this world of Fortnite and YouTube?
One of my favorite things to do is to take the kids to local bookstores!
One of our favorites here in Portland, TX called Books Ink. It is a small locally owned and operated used bookstore that will give kids one free book (valued at $5 or less) a week if they answer a trivia type question for the owner. I mean how cool is that? So, if cost of buying new books for the kids is an issue this is the perfect solution, because you can always take in old books that you have read already and your kids can cash in on the free book. What better way to help foster a love of reading in our kids than to make sure they always have access to books.
If you would like to visit this local treasure go to 1011 US HWY 181 and look for the small shop in the back of the shopping center, and please go show them some Facebook love on their page!
Another step I have taken to foster a love of books in my kids is to read in front of them.
I read to them at least once a day, but I also let them see me read my own books. Now don’t get me wrong if they are running around and asking me a million questions I may not get more than a few pages or a chapter read, but I am still modeling the behavior I’d like to see in my kids! I believe if I tell them how important it is to do their best and learn to read and tell them how great reading is they should probably see me doing the same thing. So even though it may not be the MOST relaxing way to enjoy a book I HIGHLY recommend setting your kids up with a game or activity and let them know that while they work mommy is going to enjoy a little reading time.
I feel like this one is a little obvious but felt like it needed to be included in my list……. READ TO YOUR KIDS!
Do the funny voices and make the silly sounds. If you tire of reading the same book over and over find an age appropriate chapter book and take it one chapter a night. I started reading chapter books to my daughter when she was maybe one or two years old. It has been one of my favorite things to do in the evening. We sit down in her rocker and read one chapter from a kids/youth book or series . After a while she started asking for more chapters and could ask for the books by the characters in them. Not only have I seen her love of books increase but I’ve gotten to read some cool books that I may not have read otherwise, I’m looking at you “A Wrinkle in Time” which, in case you were unaware, is SO MUCH BETTER than the movie!
So go and get it, and read it…. I’ll wait……
And the last thing I wanted to share was some encouragement, not only for you but for me too….
Don’t give up!!! If reading time is a fight and you think “this kid is never going to enjoy this” just hang in there.
Try and make it as fun as you can, search until you find the right genre that will draw them in and make them see what a cool thing reading can be. Before this last few months my son just would not sit still for me to read to him. I didn’t enjoy doing it, I felt like I was telling him to sit and be quiet longer than it took to read just one chapter, or one book. And I felt immensely guilty as I would sit in my daughter’s room reading to her and enjoying it so much, then dreading reading with my son. Now that he is in Kinder and it is not just a privilege but a necessity that we sit and read daily, I am regretting not putting in a better effort with him. But in the last few weeks he has brought home books from his school library that he picked himself and we read them in the evening and it feels like finally he is enjoying the time. That’s not to say it has magically turned him into a huge book lover but I can see the light and pray that both him and his sister will have a love of books like me for years and years to come.
