Growing up my favorite thing to do was read. As a homeschooling mom (and an author) reading is now a highlight of my life. From the moment I had kids, I wanted them to be readers, too. I’m happy to say they are! Here are some ways you can grow a reader too.
1. Start young and keep going. I started reading to my kids when they were four to five months old. Sometimes I didn’t even read the story, but I’d point out items and colors and shapes on the page. When my kids were babies and toddlers I’d read to them for fifteen to twenty minutes a day. This time grew as they did!
2. Set an example. Turn off the TV and get off the computer and curl up with a book.
3. Write reading into your family schedule. We made reading part of our bedtime routine. After the kids got ready for bed we’d all gather in the living room and dad read a chapter out of a book. This continued until my older kids were in high school, and we’re eager to start this again with our little one who we adopted!
4. Fill your home with all types of reading materials: books, magazines, newspapers, maps, cookbooks. Let kids drag them around and explore the pages.
5. Visit the library often. This was part of our weekly homeschooling schedule for years. If your library has a story time, be sure to attend!
Read the rest of the post here at Home Educating Family:
How about you? How do you help your children develop a love for reading?
Resources:
Honey for a Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt
Books Children Love by Elizabeth Wilson
Prayer:
Lord, I thank You that You’ve given me these children to nurture and raise. Help me to be diligent in doing it in a way that honors You and prepares them for their service to You and this world … for Your glory! Amen.
I have a few books on sale right now! Generation NeXt Marriage is $2.99. You can also get my four World War II novels in the Liberators Series for $13.99.
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Teaching a child to be passionate about reading is a great gift 🙂
My mother inspired me as a child,I pray I can inspire my little one too …
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I love that!
Yes, I agree that being passionate readers is super important. One other tip I would mention, which I learned from Andrew Pudewa, is to continue reading out loud to your kids even after they are able to read themselves. He suggests reading books which are just a little bit above the level at which they are reading themselves. I’ve been doing that with my boys and it has been a real blessing in our home. We always start our day with me reading aloud. It’s a nice, gentle way to start our schoolwork. 🙂
Yes, that’s a great tip! We continued to read nightly to our older ones into high school! Thank you for sharing!