Encouraging My Kids to Read

my husband happened to go by a comic book store on a day that they were giving out free comics and brought a bunch home. the variety sparked interest in my son. we have gone back to free comic book day for the last 2 years. My 5 year old may not be the best listener but I bet he is one of the better readers in his class. and now he loves to read stories to his 3 year old brother. We have also bought comic books as gifts for his friends birthdays.

I have found that the best way to encourage my kids to read is to read with them. We have story time every night of the week where each kids gets to pick their favorite book and I read to each of them. It's a lot of fun and it helps me set the example by showing them how fun reading can be. This is a habit I started with my first child when she was only 6 months old and I have continued on through all four of my children. It is probably one of their very most favorite parts of the day. I believe that the reason my kids love reading so much now as they have learned to read on their own is a direct result of these evenings.

My kids also participated in the summer reading program at the local library. I would highly recommend getting your kids enrolled in a similar reading program. Kids earn prizes for every book, 50 pages or 20 minutes of reading they do. While my kids have always loved to read, this truly got my boys especially hyped to make sure they did their independent reading as well!

Now, my kids are 5 and 3, but one thing that I have done that get's them excited about books is borrowing books on CD from the library and listening to them in the car as we run errands. A lot of them are unabridged and it really get's their imaginations going. It's also a great way for them to enjoy a story and a non-scheduled time. My daughter fell in love with the Juni B. Jones books and would be so excited to finish the story when we got out of the car that she would run to her room and grab the book when we got home.

Hi ! I understand your challenge. I found this article helpful. http://www.makinglifebetter.com/home-family/article/the-j...

Good Luck!

I am a mom of 4 and caregiver of 2 additional children ranging in age from 1 to 15. We go to the library as a family and while there each branch off to their area of interest. The Phoenix public library is awesome because they have areas of interest for every age group and make it convenient for adults to get books and dvd's along the way with their children by having displays of "recommended" reading and audio visual resources. If your children are younger, they offer story time that brings the books to life. It has made a significant impact in our lives and it is absolutely free.

Hello,
I have been a teacher for 13years and I am the mother of two children who like to read. The key is not to force them and let them read whatever they want. Try to choose some series that they might like. My son started to love to read when he started on the Magic Tree House series. My daughter loves animals, so we get nonfiction as well as fiction with animals in the story. They each have a magazine that we get monthly....Ranger Rick and Highlights. They see my husband and I reading frequently and we talk about the books with them. The libraries and Barnes and Noble have summer reading programs which can be motivating because they get prizes along the way and they are rewarded at the end with a free book. They should read for 20 minutes per day, whether it is you reading to them, or them reading to you or siblings reading to eachother. Talk about the book with them and ask them questions like; Do you like the actions of that character? What do you think will happen next? How do you think the book will end? Which was your favorite part and why? I hope this helps!
K.

My daughter will be entering the 6th grade this year, and we have always struggled with her reading. They have Accelerated Reader (AR) at her school and she had never made her goal up until last year when I decided to start reading with her. Like the other post, she reads a page and I read a page. You have to schedule a time and stick to it. Not every kid will be a avid reader, so you need to have patience. I've been told by other mom's with older kids that their kids didn't start reading on their own until 7th or 8th grade, so have faith that one day it will kick in! Until then, use encouragement and do it as a team. Good luck.

Hi R.,

My kids just LOVE going to the library and getting books. I often check out aabout 30 at at ime, knowing that if I get enough books that the kids will like at least one book from the pile(which I put in a basket in the living room so they see it everyday)...If they even look at just one book, then it was well worth the trip to the library.

I also make it a habit to go to the library once per week--and return all the books that were in the basket. I tell the kids that we will be going to the library to return the books and that if they want to look at any of them before they are returned, then NOW is the time to do so... One of the main reasons why I return the books so quickly is to give the kids another chance to pick more books out--if they get to choose the books, then they will at least look at it--even if it is only the day we go to the library...I try to check out a variety of books--even some that I never would check out for myself...all with the hopes that one of them will pique the interest of one of the children...

Another thing I do is to play word games--expecially with the youngest child who is beginning to read--I see that a word is repeated many times through the story and ask for him to say that specific word whenever we come up to it...and I read with my finger pointing to the words as I read along... It has only been recently that he has actaully sat down to let me read to him--which makes me ecstatic! :-) I've been checking books out from the library for years now--the kids know we will go get more books. I even allow them to look online and reserve a book that they find so it will be waiting for them when we go to the library--something for them to look forward to.

Getting them interested in a series of books is a good idea because once they take the bait, they want to read more books in the series. One of my kids sread throught he whole Harry Potter series this summer, another has been reading the Magic School Bus, one has been interested in the Clifford books, and another has been interested in the choose your own adventures series...etc... If you give them enough opportunities to check out books from the library, then they will eventually find something that they like...

One more thing that we do: when the kids earn a prize--instead of buying a treat, such as candy, or ice-cream, we take them to the book store and they get to choose a book (of course within a budget). The book is their own book--they earned it. Often times, they will hole up aand read that book--or just look at it, many times. It is treasured because it is theirs to KEEP. :-)

Don't put the pressure on them to read--they will resist. But if you make it appear to be their own choice, then they will enjoy it...

Best of luck!! Happy reading!!

--L. W

A little bit about me; My husband and I have been married for 13 years and are the happy parents of 5 active and very smart children. They all love to read and read above their grade-level. I've learned a bit over the years and am willing to share my "wisdom" with anybody who is willing to listen...

what better way to help them read- to read yourself. If you are excited to read- they will be too! Go to the library, get them their own card and your own card, and get some books for yourself. There are kid book clubs and adult book clubs and both kid and adault book clubs... you need to find them, I would aske the library...

Another way- is to watch a movie and then read the book or -vs- read the book and as a reward, watch the movie...

You don't say how old your kids are, but at all ages there are many benefits to reading aloud to them. Institute family story time. Even if they are older, just read older books. At any age, it helps their comprehension skills. If you enjoy reading, they will come to.

Hi R.,

My youngest daughter was a little bit behind in her reading...not reading quite on her level. We found a website that she LOVES and has been doing really well. It's called "Ticket to Read"... http://www.tickettoread.com. It's a paid membership website (just under $30 a year per child), but you can try a trial 2-week period for free to see if they like it. On the site, the kids have a virtual clubhouse. As they read, comprehend and improve, they earn tickets to "buy" things to decorate their virtual clubhouse. Since she's used the website (probably about 2 months now), I can see an improvement in her reading. When we would go to the library before, she wasn't too interested in checking out books, but now, she ASKS to go to the library. It's great! I'm excited for school to start back up to see how her teacher evaluates her reading level now :o)

As an avid reader myself it has been very important for me to get my children to love reading too. I bought them the Disney story books to start off with and they enjoyed them. Still do!! Since they are characters that they like and they have seen on TV, they have interest in them. I also set the example. Now, every now and then, we go out to Barnes & Noble and they choose a book as a treat instead of a toy. We also buy what interests them and according to their age and reading level. My daughter is eight now and she reads chapter stories. She used to hate reading when she started kindergarten but after working this with her by the end of the year she was at a second graders level. I couldn't be any prouder! My two sons are a little harder because they prefer wrestling and rough housing but they do enjoy reading too. Anyway, I hope this helps. Good luck.

Check out your local library. Most libraries have fun summer reading programs with incentives to read more books. Kids can earn gift certificates, t-shirts, etc. It helped with my kids! Goodluck!

Depending on your kids' ages, I have done money for chapters over the summer before with my kids. If they are young and read chapter books, maybe 25-50 cents per chapter. As they got older (5th, 6th grade) I did $1 per chapter. It motivated them to read and they got to buy something at the end of the summer.

I too have struggled with this very subject. My son has always struggled to read on his own. If we read together, I read a page, he read a page, we will get some reading in. We did go the library and picked a few audio books that my kiddos liked.

Good luck, I am seriously interested in some of the other mommas suggestions.