I was born a bookworm.
My first word was bookie– I kid you not. I would follow my mother around the house, with a book under my arm, and chant, “Boooookie bookie bookie bookie!”
I have always loved to read, and I’ve always adored children’s literature. I had a children’s library before I had children.
But do you want to know something interesting? When I was pregnant with my first child, I worried about whether my children would love to read.
Are bookworms guaranteed bookworms? What if they didn’t like it? What if they didn’t love it?
It seems kind of silly now, but as a lifelong bibliophile, this was a big concern. I wanted to raise readers.
How to Raise Readers: 10 Tips for Parents
My children are now almost 9, 7, and 5-years-old. I’m happy to report that they love books every bit as much as their mama does.
They never leave home without a book tucked under their little arms. The wake up reading and fall asleep with a book in their hands.
So, how did it happen? How does one grow a reader?
10 Tips for Raising Readers
Learning to read is a skill and, like all skills, it requires hard work and heaps of practice in order to become proficient.
In order for kids to want to put all that time and effort in, we need to provide them with oodles of positive early reading experiences. If reading is pleasurable, they are going to want to learn how to do it themselves.
1. Create a print-rich environment
If you want your children to read, surround yourself with things to read! Here are some ideas:
- Access to a variety of reading materials, from books to newspapers to magazines
- Book baskets in every room
- When watching television, enable closed captioning
- Label items in your home, such as toy bins and dresser drawers.
2. Commit to reading aloud every single day
Reading aloud is the best thing you can do for your child’s future reading success. By reading aloud to your child, you are building his or her:
- Vocabulary
- Background knowledge
- Reading fluency
- Pronunciation
- Listening skills
Make a promise to read at least one book aloud to your children every single day. If you find you are too tired by the end of the day, start your morning off with a read aloud. By reading a book at breakfast, you’ll be starting off the day on the right foot.
3. Visit the library or bookstore on a regular basis
Nothing gets kids more excited to read than a special trip to the library or local bookstore! When you are surrounded by so many novel books it is hard to be inspired.
4. Allow your children to choose books
Sure, they may not choose the books that you would choose, but if you want your children to be passionate about reading you have to let them discover what they love. In our family, each child has a library tote back. Each week, they check out as many books as they can carry from the children’s section.
5. But sneak in a few titles to use for strewing
Children are always passionate about something. What is your child obsessed with at the moment? Guess what? There’s a book about that! Every week, while my children are busy filling their library totes, I select a few additional books based on their current passions. Then, when we get home, I leave them out in plain view. Without fail, they read the book.
6. When they ask you to read Dinosaurumpus for the nine gazillionth time, say yes
Sometimes one of my children will approach me with a book that I have read a gazillion times. Children learn through repetition so do not get discouraged if you feel that you are reading and rereading the same books every day.
7. Make your read alouds memorable
By creating memorable read-aloud moments, you are not only connecting to your children but you are also making reading a pleasurable experience for your child. When reading is fun, kids are going to want to do it! Here are some ideas to jumpstart your read alouds:
- Grab some blankets and snuggle up together with a good book
- Have a picnic and bring your favorite story
- Create a family book club!
- Plan a related craft for after your read aloud
- Grab a flashlight and read in the dark!
8. Focus on enjoying great books, not on your child’s reading development
Nowadays there is so much pressure to read early, but this pressure makes reading anything but fun. If reading is seen as a job, rather than a joy, children aren’t going to want to spend their time reading! Instead, focus on enjoying good books together.
9. Make space for silent reading time every single day
The importance of reading aloud cannot be overstated. Still, silent reading is important too. In our family, we have an hour of quiet time every afternoon. This time is usually spent reading. Even my littlest guy, who is not yet reading, will spend that time paging through his favorite books.
10. Be a reading role model
Do you know what I do during that afternoon quiet time? I read my book. Make sure your children see you reading. Children learn by watching you, so give them something to imitate!
Do you love children’s books?
Be sure to follow My Little Poppies because we share snapshots of our homeschool day… and heaps of fantastic books!
You are also invited to join the {Virtual} Family Book Club at My Little Poppies, a private Facebook Group for parents who love to read fantastic books to their children… and chat about them!
My spouse and I are trying to get our kids into reading more because we believe it will greatly enrich their lives. I’ll try to find some books that my kids are interested in so that they want to pick up the books. I love your idea to have a book basket in every room so that they are always within reach for our family.
That’s a good idea to have an hour or so of quiet time for the kids to read. I could see how that would help them to not be distracted by video games or anything, plus it would enable me to have some quiet time as well. I’ll have to give that a try to hopefully get my kids to enjoy reading.