Hopefully your child’s school invests plenty of time and energy into classroom reading. Since the ability to read impacts a student’s future success in other subjects, reading should be a major emphasis (especially in the elementary school years) in the classroom. A focus on reading should not end with the school day though. It’s our responsibility as parents to encourage and assist reading at home as well. With this in mind, Red Apple Reading has 10 quick tips to help parents facilitate reading time at home.
Supply Easy Access to Reading Material – One way to ensure your home is a reading friendly environment is by having plenty of reading material available to your children. Make certain that several rooms throughout the home have age appropriate books, magazines, and other reading material that your kiddos can easily access.- Have a Designated Reading Time – Encourage literacy at home by setting aside a time designated solely to reading. Whether 30 minutes prior to bed or while eating an after school snack, families should have a time each day dedicated to reading.
- Provide a Quiet Environment – Parents can facilitate home reading time by providing a quiet space to settle in with a book. Make sure there is at least one room in the house where your child will not be distracted by the television, loud play, or other noises that can divert their attention.
- Be a Reading Role Model – If children frequently see their moms and dads reading at home, they will assume that reading is a worthwhile endeavor. Parents need to be reading role models to their little ones.
- Read to Your Child– Children who are already independent readers still enjoy being read aloud to! Reading with mom or dad makes reading time at home a special treat!
- Make it Fun! – We never want to give the impression that reading is drudgery! So find ways to make home reading fun. When reading aloud to your child use silly voices, buy a special book light for night reading, or pop some popcorn to snack on during story time. Kids should look forward to reading at home!
- Provide Incentives – There’s nothing wrong with giving a little treat in order to encourage reading. Provide an incentive for your kiddo to keep her focused on a reading goal. For instance, you could take her to see the movie version of a book if she reads the book first. It’s worth a bit of enticement if the end result is a kid who loves to read!
- Discuss – Ask your little one about what they are reading. Children love to relate stories back to their parent, and discussing their book aids reading comprehension. So after reading time, ask what their favorite part of the book was, what character they like the most, or any other question that will initiate a discussion.
- Be Flexible – While home reading time is important, flexibility is as well! Let your child choose what time of day he prefers to read, what types of reading material he enjoys, etc. By giving your child some control over home reading time, you help to ensure that he will want to continue the process.
- Purchase the Island Adventures Storybook App – Red Apple Reading recently released the Island Adventures reading app on iTunes. Red Apple Readers – Island Adventures consists of 15 decodable stories that children can either listen to or read independently. Visit the Red Apple Reading website for more information about this and other helpful and engaging reading apps!
