One of the top compliments I get as a mom is around how I get my kids to read so much. At first, when I received this compliment I was coy, and said, “James (my daughter) just came out of the womb loving to read”. But that is not entirely true. As I slowed down enough to see the answer, it became apparent that I set her up for success in her love of reading. And you can too!
Whether your baby is still in your womb or your babe is 12 years old, I have some tips and tricks to get your child to love to read. As a child who did not love to read myself, and a former middle school educator, I feel like I have so much insight on how to make this journey an absolute success. Here are 7 ways you can increase reading in your home today!
- Make reading accessible. Place your books in spaces your kids can access them. For us, books are in nearly every room of the house. They are in our car. They are in our bags. Books are everywhere. Our kids know that books are always an option.
- Read around your kids. I don’t know about you but my kids eat more off my plate than their own. My kids want to do whatever I am doing. So, when they see me or Emmanuel reading, they hop right in and will ask us to read what we are reading aloud or will grab a book and pull up a seat, to sit near us and read. They love reading when they see us reading.
- Read to them often and excitedly. Make the books come alive. Use silly voices for each character. Don’t save all the books for bedtime. Read to them throughout the day. Let them choose the books. Even if they choose the same one over and over again.
- Speaking of choosing the same book over and over again, let them. It is so good for emergent readers to have repeated exposure to the same book. It allows them to feel comfortable with the book, have clues about what happens next in the book, and fill in any missing words that you may leave out for them to “read aloud”. For example in Pout Pout Fish, my kids ALWAYS ready Blub, Bluuuub, Bluuuuuuuub. They look forward to the way that they can participate in reading.
- Find books about things that interest them. For example, if you notice your kid is really into spiders, you might take a trip to the library and buy books about spiders. You will watch them get soaked up in these books because it is giving them information about something they are already curious about.
- Make sure your books reflect the diverse world they live in. Skin tones, religions, abilities, genders, sexualities, cultures. All of it. Kids are excited to learn about things that are different from them. They will have so many questions and that gives you a chance to get even more books to answer those questions. Here are some of our favorite kids books.
- Make reading fun. If your kid is an emergent reader, don’t stress about them “learning to read”. They already are. Are they holding the book up in the correct orientation? Do they turn the pages by themselves? Do they make up stories on each page based on the images they see? Then they’re reading. Over time their phonetic awareness will increase, but the main job while they are young is to get them to enjoy picking up a book, not to dread it because they always have to work when they read.
Actually, it really isn’t that hard to get your kids to read. You just have to always have books available, and make reading desirable and fun. My daughter is five years old and can’t blend together sounds quite yet and is still a Level A emergent reader. See the images below to gain more understanding.
Sure there are kids in her class and even younger than her who are fluent readers, but I am not worried about James. I am not stressed or pressed for her to get to their level. Because I know she will one day be a fluent reader. And until that day, I still want her sneaking and staying up until 9pm reading in her bed. I still want to read books aloud to her now, and even when she is a fluent reader. I still want her to see me reading. I want her to enjoy reading. To find reading a safe space, not a space that feels hard and stressed.
I know it can feel stressful when our kids aren’t doing things we see other kids doing, but I encourage you to stay attuned to them. Don’t look at other kids to see what they are doing and compare your kid. Stay in your lane, and your kids pace, and it will be just fine. Promise. Check out the link below to see some of our favorite kids books, and let me know which ones I need to add to the list in the comments below.