Many kids, especially those with reading difficulties, are captivated by television and video games rather than books. The sooner parents instill the value of reading, the better. Here are five ways to make home a garden bed where readers blossom:
Make time for reading aloud.
Children who love reading have parents who love reading to them. Schedule a read-aloud time daily and let nothing short of a natural disaster interfere.
Understand readability levels.
When children regularly encounter books where they recognize at least 95 percent of the words, they will associate reading with pleasure.
Create pastimes that encourage reading.
Introduce young ones to the book fairy. This fairy exchanges books for teeth. Find out if your next family movie rental is based on a book. If so, read it together first. Most importantly, plan regular trips to the local library.
Nurture inner authors.
Children are eager to read and reread anything they’ve written. Every home library should include a shelf with notebooks and journals filled with their stories and illustrations.
Be a reader.
Are you a reader? Children imitate what they see us do. If the value of reading is going to stick, we must find time for it ourselves.