When children return home from school on an evening, often the last thing they want to do is read to a grown-up. However, we all know how vital practising reading regularly is. So, here are some ways to encourage your child to read more and be a strong reader.
Share the load
Rather than expecting your child to read the entirety of the book, they have brought home from school, for example, why not share the duties and take a page or paragraph each and alternating thereafter? You could even let your child choose. It’s funny how they analyse the pages to work out which one has the most words on it.
Varied material
Imagine you had to eat the same kind of meal every single evening of the week for the foreseeable future. That might give you some insight as to how some kids might feel being forced to read the same books time and time again. Boredom sinks in very easily, so providing your child with a variety of reading material can really help to engage them. Think magazines, comics, instruction manuals even… reading doesn’t have to be done formally all the time.
Be someone else
As a child, the best teacher was always the one who did the funny voices, taking on the characters within stories brilliantly. There is nothing stopping your child from doing something similar and pretending to be one of the characters. Alternatively, and this one can be quite funny, get them to pretend to be someone or something else as they are reading the text. It could be a robot, mouse or monster. Hilarious to listen to and it makes what is often a chore much more fun.
Make it special
Rather than squeezing in a minute or two before bath time while tensions are running high, set time aside and make it a special moment for your child. Wrap yourselves up in a blanket on the sofa or snuggle in bed, shutting out the rest of the world, maybe make a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows. Reading does not having to be boring, as many children assume it is.
Role-reversal
Ok, so this isn’t exactly your child reading more, but it is helpful to their reading. Take one of their books and read to them, making a few mistakes as you go through the book. Do they spot the errors you have made? Can they explain what the correct word would be? Perhaps they might even be able to hazard a guess as to why the mistake was made.
Play reading games
After doing some or all of the reading, you can play games linked to the text to make it more fun. One of the best is fastest finger first, which works brilliantly for younger children. If they have stumbled on some of the tricky words, turn to the page containing one of them and get them to wiggle their finger and say, “Fastest finger first… who can find the word ‘terrible’, for example. You and your child racing to find the word is always a hit – just don’t let them win every time.
If you need some more advice encouraging your child to read more, why not chat to a Bloss parenting expert?
