Reading is Fun
Make Reading a Family Affair
Families can motivate their children to read by making reading fun. When children learn that reading is important to their parents and siblings, it will become important and fun to them. It’s never too early to make reading a part of family life.
Talking and Reading
Many activities that young readers will enjoy can be incorporated in the family’s daily life. Young children especially like to do most things with their parents, and talking and reading activities are opportunities to encourage that closeness. It’s important is to make time to do them regularly.
Start by talking to your newborn baby. Talk to her when you are changing her diaper, feeding her, or playing with her. Talking will help her add words to her vocabulary and learn how to use the language. The better a child’s oral language, the easier it will be for her to learn to read.
Start reading to your child early. Put her in your lap and read. Read a book with bright pictures and talk about the pictures. Ask questions: “Who is in the picture?” “What is he doing?” What do you think will happen next? Make this a daily activity. The more children have been read to, the easier it is for them to learn to read.
Take your child to the library often. Find out what children’s programs your library offers, and arrange for your child to participate. Help your child check out books to read at home. Take her to the children’s section.
It’s tempting to pick out books for your child, but try to let her pick them out. If a book seems too easy, that’s just fine. It will give her confidence. If it’s too hard, let her check it out anyway. Just don’t insist that she read it. She’ll find her level, especially if she is allowed to check out her own books.
Reading Materials Visible
Keep reading materials visible in your home and let your child see that you use them to get information or sometimes read just for fun. Having newspapers, magazines, and books around is another way of showing your child that reading is important and fun.
Help your child keep a journal. She can dictate a story that she makes up or one that tells what she did that day. Write her exact words. Don’t try to correct grammar at this point. Read the story out loud to your child. Ask her to read it with you.
When your young reader is beginning to read words from books, do popcorn reading with her. You read a paragraph and she reads the next one. Take turns, including more family members or friends.
Limit TV watching and video games. This will be hard to do because so many people spend their time doing those things, but other activities are of more value in educating children. Instead of watching TV, help her find information on the Internet. Use it to show her how to find stories or information about other people and places.
Use the fact that young children love to be with their parents and to do the things that their families do. Talk with your child and begin reading to her at an early age, and include her in a variety of reading activities as she grows older. Help her see that reading can be not only useful, but fun. All of these ideas may seem obvious, but it’s easy to forget how important they are. Set aside some time each day to read to or with your child, and remember to talk to him or her at every opportunity.
Learning to Read
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