My father read books, newspapers and magazines every day. He even read while he watched TV, and multitasking hadn’t been invented yet. I adored my Father and wanted to be like him. So I taught myself to read before I went to kindergarten. (However, I am not recommending that children learn to read before they go to school.)
My parents talked about reading and sometimes related reading to making plans. For example, my mom might say, “I read in the paper this morning that the school board voted for a longer winter break. So what should we do with those extra days? Maybe you could go ice skating sometime.” day”. Or they asked questions: “What do you like best about that book about dogs you just finished?”
In short, we lived in a reading environment. Everyone, including grandparents who didn’t graduate from high school, reads at least one newspaper and one or two magazines. People had shelves of books instead of shelves full of photos and trinkets. They all used the word “read” in everyday conversation.
Then television took over. Computers evolved from a reading medium to a visual medium. All things digital and electronic captured our imagination. Subscriptions to newspapers and magazines decreased. video rules.
However, even though many of us don’t read much, we still believe that reading is an essential skill for children to master. We need to model reading for our children. Since children learn from what we do, reading to ourselves shows them that we think it’s important.
Try these seven simple solutions with your children to promote reading:
– Read yourself. Buy a magazine at the supermarket. Get a book about a favorite hobby. Talk about reading. If you love saving photos, you might say, “Oh, I just read the coolest article in my magazine about collecting family photos.” Leave magazines and books for your children to see.
– Insist on reading instructions and recipes. “Before we start baking cookies, we need to read the recipe.”
– Read stories to their children. Not just for preschoolers, but fourth and fifth graders as well. Read something to them every night before bed. Research has shown that reading aloud to children helps them read. A study by the US Department of Education shows that children who are read to are nearly twice as likely to score in the top 25 percent on standardized reading tests.
– Get books for your children that are related to their interests. My grandson, a fourth grader at the time, hated reading. He loves soccer. We found a football book in his grade level. He read it. And he enjoyed it. For sports, look for books by Matt Christopher. 3rd and 4th grade girls love the Juni B. Jones series by Barbara Parks. In fifth grade, girls and boys enjoy Brett Helquist’s Lemony Snicket series. Encourage the children to tell you what they have read. Take an interest in his books.
– Take the kids to the library or bookstore for fun. Buy a book for yourself. Or check out one at the library. Let your children see that you like books.
– Assume that your children know how to read and ask them to do so. Let them know that reading is an everyday activity. Ask them to read the instructions for putting up the new shelf in the garage. Have them read aloud what’s on the 7:00 pm TV show so you can choose your favorite show.
– Better yet, turn off the television. And while you’re at it, put video games out of your reach.
I just read! It is more of an incentive for your children to see you read than to nag them to read. Certainly, many of the brain-based learning programs often used in schools, like Brain Gym, help kids master reading. But that is not enough. Start today to create a reading environment in your home.