Reading is one of the most wonderful opportunities a child has for exploring their imagination, as well as growing in their confidence and language skills. Give your child the tools they need to succeed, and you’ll be surprised what they can accomplish. Here are some ways you can help your child succeed in reading and all the great skills that come along with it:
- Bring the Stories to Life – When you read with your child, use silly voices and make reading exciting! Getting your child engaged in reading is a key part of making the experience fun and memorable.
- Keep Books Around the House – Make reading an essential, just like meals and school. It’s part of life, and your kids need to get used to it. Ensure there is plenty of reading material around the house at all times, and try to make sure some of it is up-to-date material that your kids are hearing about at school and from friends.
- Don’t Make Reading Work, Make it Play – Don’t use reading as a punishment for your child and try to always encourage reading outside of homework and school. The more you make reading a normal, interesting part of everyday life, the more likely you’ll catch your child reading for fun.
- Gives Your Kids Some Variety – Books aren’t the only kind of material your kids will learn from. Expose them to poetry or plays, and even let them have a magazine every once in a while. This variety often caters better to the unique personalities of children, making reading even more interesting.
- Always Read with Your Child – Whether it means you reading to your child, your child reading to you, or you each reading separately next to each other, sharing the experience with your kids can make all the difference in spurring their interests in reading. Show them it’s a part of everyday life and it can quickly become one of the most in-depth explorations of their imagination in their life thus far.
