inspire a love for READING children’s books
I love reading books…I really love reading children’s books. During our preschool years my sister and I collected a large library of children’s books. I remember sitting on the floor as we packed up the school for the very last time, both pregnant with our first babies. We carefully decided who’s box each book would go into. Both of us had favorites that we could imagine reading to our little ones over and over.
It doesn’t surprise me that both of our homes are full of books, all of our children have a genuine love of books and that reading is a daily activity.
So how do you encourage reading in your home? Here is a list of the reading rules I think have made a big impact on our little readers.
1. Teach a respect for books. Only keep books on your self that are in good shape. Make sure all of your books are free from tears and unwanted writing. If a book gets riped, tape it before replacing it. Make sure that books are picked up when they are not being read. This will keep them from being stepped on.
2. Keep books in several places. Where do you spend time? Make sure there are a stack of books in arm’s reach no matter where your little one decides to read. Book shelves are great, but a book basket works well too!
3. Take advantage of the library and local book stores. If you get excited about outings focused around books and reading, your little ones will too! I have compiled some tips for library visits here and here.
4. Make story time a priority. Reading should be encouraged throughout the day, but having set story times is a good place to start. For more tips on creating an enhanced story time click here. (By the way. . .it’s never too young to start!)
5. Let them read what they want. Of course you’ll want to use caution with this, but if you give your kids the opportunity to read the books that they are drawn to they are more likely to love reading. Big M loves non-fiction, transportation books, and Little M is thrilled with the colorful covers of chapter books. (The subject matter is usually too mature for her, she likes to pretend she is reading her own version.)
6. Find a book buddy. Trade books with a friend or neighbor kids. If you take #1 on this list seriously, it will be easy to find someone who will be excited to trade books with you. The switch will give your kids the opportunity to have a fresh set of books on a regular basis.
What great reading tips do you have to share? Make sure to check back tomorrow for some super fun summer reading.
Great post, will share on my FB page.
Thank you!
Love all these suggestions. The first one is a bit difficult for us. Quite a few of our books are from my childhood and have seen better days! Plus my girls are both pretty brutal on all their toys but as they got older I will definitely try to instill a better respect for their books.
We have a special place for the older more fragile books. It is fun to bring out our old books. I love reading the ones my dad read to me to M and M.
Early in May we had Book Week in my early childhood class. We were completed saturated in books. We camped out with books by setting up a sheet tent in the classroom. We had a picnic with books by setting out a big blanket to lay down to look at books. We took the blanket outside to read in the sunshine. We have a word wall and the students were encouraged to find the words from the word wall in the books. We had parents sign up to visit and read books to the students. Fun week! http://www.brennaphillips.com/book-week
http://www.brennaphillips.com/camping-out-with-books
http://www.brennaphillips.com/parent-readers
That sounds like so much fun!
I am years away from Children but have already started collecting books. I have such fond memories of my mom reading to us, summers spent at the public library and circling all the books I wanted in the book fair fliers.
What great ideas! I am glad I saw your link on SITS.
♥ theMRS.
Settle a debate we are having at work- DO YOU think it’s ok for your husband/boyfriend to go out with other women who are “just friends”? Give your two cents {HERE}
We love books in our home! We started reading to our kidlets the day they were born and haven’t stopped since. Even though our kids are 7 and older now, they still read daily. We send them to bed an hour or so early so they can have that time specifically set aside to read. Our oldest is 12 and even starts her morning scanning the newspaper!
As a preschool teacher, one of my biggest passions is instilling that love of reading in my students, so I make sure the books I stock my shelf with are great books. And I insist on that for my own children. There’s a lot of books the equivalent of junk food, but my husband and I truly believe that if you start reading quality books to them early, they will choose quality books over the fluff as they start reading independently.
We spend quite a bit of time reading before bed, but maybe I’ll cut that in half for independent book time. I love the idea of kids winding down while wrapped up in a good book. Sure to bring on good dreams!
Loved this! I have posted this to the website, with your url.