How to Raise Readers
With the rise in technology and so much variety of entertainment at our fingertips, reading books has declined over the past few years. “Fewer children today identify as frequent readers, and reading frequency plummets as kids age,” says Scholastic President and CEO. High percentages of children are turning to YouTube, online games, and apps for entertainment instead of opening up a book. Abundant research has proven that children who read at least 20 minutes a day will see significant improvement in multiple areas.
Benefits to reading daily (for kiddos and adults!):
Exercises our brain
Expands our vocabulary
Can reduce stress
Improves our concentration
Offers better sleep
Elevates our writing skills
Helps with our mental health
Enhances our imagination
Improves our memory
Boosts our critical thinking skills
Develops empathy
Let’s give our children a love for books and reading by…
Read alouds- Children of all ages (yes, even tweens and teens) enjoy being read to. Even with children of varying ages, there are a plethora of books that can be read together as a family. My boys are 13, 10, and 8. We have been doing family read-alouds consistently for the past 3 years. Our books have ranged from classics to fantasy to nonfiction to mysteries to book series. Our family read-alouds typically occur right after Breakfast/Bible time, but we have also done our read-alouds in the car waiting for an appointment, at the park, during a picnic, before bedtime, and during lunch. (Read Aloud Revival is a great resource for book lists.)
Audiobooks- Although I prefer an actual book to hold in my hand and turn the pages, audiobooks are a fantastic alternative. Due to space limitations while living and traveling in our camper, audiobooks have been a great asset to our family. My hubby and eldest son listen to audiobooks together while they are traveling to job sites. As a family, we use Hoopla through our library, to download free audiobooks (for a 3 week period). One of our favorite audiobook series is Heroes to History! A new product I just discovered is Yoto which is a mini speaker for kiddos that comes with audiobook cards.
Intentionally scattering books throughout the home- Several years ago when we still lived in our house, I had books in the playroom, living room/den, and the boys’ bedroom. The point is to have books easily accessible and available. These various baskets and bins had a variety of books for each boy. We kept a separate basket of library books that were changed out frequently. These books can be a mix of quality literature and excellent picture books plus fun books like mazes, illusion books, comics, and graphic novels.
Set reading goals- Let the kiddos set their own reading goals. Give them some ownership to cultivate their love for reading. My boys love setting their own goals whether it be to read 100 books in a year or read through an entire series or read a book a day. What is important is that they are taking control of their goals and their reading aspirations. When they have met their goal, celebrate!
Encourage building their own library- Let’s give our kiddos the opportunity to curate their own individual books to build up their personal library. This library could be a bookshelf in their room or a family bookcase, whatever it looks like and wherever it is, those books belong to that kiddo. Family members could check out books from each other and give books to each other as gifts.
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Read at bedtime- This practice tends to drop off as kiddos age, but especially in the younger years, it is imperative that we read to our children at bedtime. Not only does it help their brains and foster connection between parent & child, but it calms their bodies for sleep. We used to read several picture books before bed. Now that my boys are older we will either read a few chapters from our current family read-aloud or the boys will read quietly/independently in their beds.
Explore libraries- Libraries are an exciting adventure! We love exploring libraries as we travel to different towns in varying states. Not only are these places to check out books, but each library has their own unique offerings. At one library we were able to check out & watch a movie about a local zoo, and then received free tickets to visit the zoo upon returning the movie! Other libraries offer take-home bags with things like Magnetic block, circuit boards, puppetry, etc. We have also seen libraries that offer discounts or free admission to surrounding state parks or historic sites. Libraries also hold events throughout the year and not just the typical preschool reading time or book club, but candy making at Valentine’s or sewing class! Every library is so different! These are some of the things we have seen in libraries around the country: a kiddy play loft area, puppet show area, stuffed animals, fun seating areas, Lego wall, train table, various toys & puzzles, a kitchen set, computers for kids to play on, yard games, nature trail, mini museums, historic sections to tour, cafe, and more!
Appointments with books- Instead of allowing our kiddos to bring their tech or use our phone while they wait for various appointments like doctor or dentist (or even out to eat), let’s bring books! When we leave for an outing, especially if we are going to an appointment, I tell the boys to grab their book(s) to read while we are there.
Driving around with books- Our van always has books in it! We keep books in a book basket and under the seats and in the netting behind the seats. The books might be “van books” that live in there for a while or library books that get changed out frequently or books that the boys bring on our drives. As a family we made the choice that drive time would be reading or talking NOT watching a DVD or playing tech (now, we do make exceptions on travel days that exceed 2 hours and allow tech/movies/video games).
Enjoy the movie adaptation- There are so many movies based on books nowadays! (see my list of book to movie titles) In general, we love the books more, but my boys have enjoyed seeing the movie adaptation of books we have read. We always read the book first and then after we watch the movie we discuss. What was similar? What was different? Which did you like better and why? Some of our favorite movies based on books are The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, Because of Winn Dixie, Matilda, and Mr. Popper’s Penguins, just to name a few.
Read as a free-time choice- Let’s view reading as a privilege, not a chore or assignment. Let’s cultivate a love for the enjoyment of reading so that our kiddos choose IT during their free time instead of some other option. Let’s allow them the opportunity to handpick their books to read and not use it as a means to an end like “when you read a book, then you can play video games.”
Social book club parties- Who doesn’t love a party? In order to foster a love for books and reading, let’s celebrate it! In our family, we do Ely Book Club. That means each week we read a book aloud as a family and when we finish we celebrate! Our celebrations are tailored to the book so sometimes it’s watching the movie adaptation, sometimes it’s having themed snacks and activities based on the book, and sometimes it’s going on a field trip that corresponds to the book. My dear friend’s kiddos are part of a book club with 3 other families. The kiddos and parents choose the monthly book, but the kiddos are the ones who develop the questions to discuss at the monthly book club gathering (which each family takes turns hosting in their home). After a discussion of the book over snacks, the kiddos hang out and play. Book clubs and book celebrations and inspire even the most reluctant reader!
Bonus Idea: If we want to pass on the message to value books let’s give books as gifts! For birthdays, Christmas, other holidays, or just because!
“Reading is a passport to countless adventures”
-Mary Pope Osbourne author the Magic Treehouse Series
