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5 Ways to Encourage a Love of Reading

To celebrate World Book Day I have joined with some other bloggers who write about education issues to share some of the ways we promote a love of literacy, and specifically a love of reading with our children. I have to admit I have reached a bit of a stumbling block with my eldest. Although she loves stories and the idea of reading, she hasn’t quite made the leap to being a totally independent reader. I think this is because, while she has stories every night, we struggle to always fit in 20 minutes of her reading to us. I never realised it would be so hard! I’m worrying a bit about how I will fit it in next year when all three girls are reading.

Here are our top ways of encouraging a love of reading:

1. Read stories every night.

I’ve written before how my children feel it is their right to have stories read to them every night. Apparently if they don’t have a story they physically can’t go to sleep.

2. Surround them with books

I love books so this one isn’t hard for me. Ok I might be a bit addicted to buying books – but you can never have too many books, can you? The good thing is that books are so cheap and easy to get hold of. You can find free books online or pick them up for 20p at the charity shop. Children’s book are wonderful these days, there is so much choice and they get more interactive. There is also the library of course (although I am rubbish at taking them back). I like to have books available for them to choose and read and always take them with me if I think we are going to be stuck somewhere.

3. Make Reading Fun

This one is hard when you are doing reading practice. It’s easy for it to feel like a chore. I think the key is finding books children will want to read. My eldest loved her school reading scheme but I know many children who don’t enjoy reading scheme books. If that’s the case then look for alternates. Non fiction, comics and ebooks are all great for reluctant readers.

4. Bring Books to Life

If there is a book they really love then look for other ways to explore the story. I like to do crafts with the children based on the books they are reading. You obviously can’t do this with every book they read but it is a good way to explore a book.

Props really help too and they can spend ages acting out a story with very few props. World Book Day is brilliant because children can dress as their favourite character. Look out for theatre productions of favourite books. We love the productions from Tall Stories based on the Julia Donaldson. Their really bring a story to life and are great introductions to the theatre. Films and TV can also help. The girls love the series of Topsy and Tim on CBeebies. It is a great adaptation and has got them more interested in listening to the stories at bedtime.

5. Read Everywhere

I think it’s easy to get hung up on books but often children are more interested in reading signs and newspaper, TV guides and brochures. I guess it seems more grown up and also helps them understand the world around them. The words are often challenging and don’t have the context cues of their story books. I also think it’s good if they see you reading, and know that it’s an activity you value.

<div align="center"><a href="https://www.herecomethegirlsblog.com" title="Here Come the Girls"><img src="https://www.herecomethegirlsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/loveliteracy.jpg" alt="Here Come the Girls" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

This blog hop is hosted on 8 blogs:

~The Fairy and The Frog ~Here Come the Girls~Sun Hats and Wellie Boots~Actually Mummy~My Little 3 and Me~Rainy Day Mum~Damson Lane ~Thinly Spread ~