It’s no secret that reading is a fundamental pillar of education. To give your kids an edge in school, they must develop a love of reading while they are young. Not only will this help them get better grades, but it will also help them grow into adults who enjoy learning new things every day. Plus, reading has been proven to be good for your overall health! Here are five tips for teaching your kids how to love reading:
Model a good reading behavior
Modeling good reading behavior is one of the most effective ways to get your kids excited about books. Here are some ways that you can model good reading:
Read to your kids
Reading aloud is an excellent way for parents and children to bond and spend time together. It also helps children develop their language skills, attention span, memory function, and vocabulary.
Read with your kids
Letting children see you read for pleasure will help them understand that reading is not only something you have to do at school or university but something enjoyable that everyone does in their spare time!
Read on your own (in public)
Children love seeing adults do things they’re not used to seeing adults do—and this goes for reading too! If there’s a particularly interesting book on the public display somewhere near where you live (like on a shelf at the library), then take the opportunity to read it yourself. Or even better yet, try reading it out loud in public so that passersby can hear what kind of content they might want to read soon!
Place more emphasis on phonemic awareness and phonics
Phonemics and phonics are two parts of the same concept. Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate sounds in spoken language. Phonics teaches children that the letters or combinations of letters make specific sounds. For example:
The word “cat” has two different consonants (c,t). The term “dog” has one vowel (o). The term “cow” has two different consonants (c and w).
Another great way to help your child learn phonics is to read with them. Talk about the sounds and letters in words and their meaning. For example, when reading “Jack and Jill went up a hill to fetch a pail of water,” point out that “Jill” starts with a “J” sound.
When reading “I like to eat apples,” point out that the word “like” starts with an “L” sound. When reading “The cat sat on a mat,” talk about how the different sounds make up the words.
These techniques can be confusing at first, so whenever you still feel lost, remember this. Phonics is the basis for reading, but phonemic awareness is the foundation for learning to read. Once you build a strong foundation using this strategy, it can help your child become more fluent readers and writers as they grow older.
Spot letters in real-life situations
Spotting letters in a real-life environment can help your kids understand how letters are used in everyday words. Then, later on, you can search for those words together. For example, if you’re reading a magazine or newspaper article with your child, point out all the different ways each letter appears. You’ll find them on signs, cereal boxes, trucks, and animals! Your child will be able to recognize the letter when they see it again later in books or magazines.
Another way is to show how dictionaries and other reference materials work. Showing your children how to use dictionaries will help them build the skills they need for reading comprehension later in life. An excellent place to start with this is by using a simple picture dictionary at home. The more familiar with it they become now, the easier it will be for them when they move up into written language later on.
Embrace various fields of progression
As you read the following points, remember that there’s more to reading than just the traditional uses of books and literature. Reading for information is an essential skill for your child to possess—and one that will help them become well-rounded individuals.
It will also make them better citizens who can contribute to society by donating knowledge to it through their own writing and research. Reading for fun can be challenging if you only focus on more than one type of reading material (i.e., fiction or nonfiction).
However, when children learn to enjoy both types of books, they can explore topics they might not have otherwise considered because they were intimidated by what they perceived as “too difficult.” When faced with difficulties later in life, this can help them develop their critical thinking skills and inspire them to persevere.
Enroll them in programs with a solid foundation in language, literacy, and reading
While children may love books, they don’t always love reading. However, as a parent, you can help your child develop their passion for reading by enrolling them in preschool programs that offer a strong foundation in language, literacy, and reading.
These programs will help them have the best start to their school careers and allow them to succeed academically throughout their schooling. Reading programs help children grow their love for reading by providing them with the tools and skills necessary to succeed in school. They also encourage children to be resourceful and clever as they explore new worlds through books.
Enrolling them in a reading program is also a great way to expand their imagination and creativity with other kids. The more they read together, the more they will be able to think outside of their box and use their imagination in new and exciting ways.
In Closing
So there you have it! Five tips that will help you teach your kids to love reading. Remember, the most important thing is to make reading fun for them and encourage them to read as much as possible. The more they pick up this habit early on, the better their future will be as readers!
