Parents who love to read can be frustrated when their children lose interest in independent reading after being swamped with school work. If you’ve noticed that your children avoid spending their free time reading, check out these ideas for encouraging kids to read.
1. Set Aside Family Reading Time
The best way to engage our children in healthy choices is to model them. This advice goes for reading as well! We think nothing of gathering on the couch to watch a family television show. Why not also set aside 20 minutes in our schedules for family reading time? Provide comfy seating, cozy blankets, a healthy snack, and then read together. Afterward, spend time discussing what each family member has read.
2. Provide a Variety of Reading Materials
When enticing our children to spend time reading, the first step is to have engaging and enjoyable resources on hand. You never know what might kindle your child’s interest in the written word. It might be comic books, graphic novels, poetry, joke books, or even car magazines! Providing a variety of materials helps our children find that unique hook or their Reading Unicorn book that keeps them reading.
3. Host a Book Club
Adults enjoy book clubs, and so do kids! Have your child help you choose a subject they are interested in and invite friends to read a book and join in a discussion. Turning the book club meeting into a party adds further incentive for reading. Your child can discuss a princess book with friends in a tea party setting, set up a backyard jungle for an adventure book discussion, or host a movie night to watch the movie version of the book they read. For families unable to meet in person, LightSail for Reading at Home contains a Book Club feature allowing children to create or join book club discussions within the platform.
4. Encourage a Deep Dive into Favorite Topics
If your child is fascinated with a particular topic, you can encourage further reading by providing books on that subject. For instance, the basketball enthusiast might jump for books on basketball heroes, stories revolving around basketball players, or nonfiction books on players, teams, and stadiums. LightSail for Reading at Home offers you the option to create customized Unit Studies containing books on the topics your child loves. Simply collect books, audiobooks, World Book Encyclopedia articles, and videos in one unit study for your child to devour.
Reading should be fun as well as educational. With a bit of effort and creativity, you can implement independent reading activities that boost your children’s enjoyment of free reading time.
Posted on 10.Oct.21 in Reading at Home Tips
