“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”

Marcus Tullius Cicero

This was a quote that was on a refridgerator magnet in my childhood home. What does this mean to you as a mother? How do we raise readers?

Raising a Reader

 

People always ask my mom, “What did you do with your girls? They’re all so successful.” Toot toot goes my own horn. I’m not bragging here, but simply stating the facts. My father has an MBA from UT Austin, my older sister has a PhD in American Literature & Religious Studies, my little sister is a big wig attorney and I’ve got my MA in Professional Counseling. What did my parents do “different” with us? They filled our home with books! We were raised to be readers!

Readers are adventure seeking! Intelligent! Self-reflective! Ambitious! Lifetime learners!

So how do you raise a reader?

1) Fill your home with PRINT!

Have magazines, newspapers, journals, and magazines around the house and accessible. Have decor that features words or letters, and keep writing materials accessible. Readers are writers and vice versa.

2) Be a READER!

Kids learn from the adults in their lives. Just like if they see you enjoying exercise and healthy foods, they too will enjoy those things. Read with your children, for your children, and in front of your children.

3) Love BOOKS together!

Take your children to story times, book parades, book signings for your favorite authors and theirs, tell them about your favorite books to read as a kid and as an adult. Watch movies inspired by books!

Your child doesn’t have to be “reading age” for you to start building healthy literacy habits. In fact, raising a reader begins inutero (during pregnancy)!

Pregnancy:

  • Read books aloud (adult books or children’s books) so your baby can begin hearing your voice, your volume, your toneBaby EV reading
  • Talk to your belly often

0-4m (ish)

Have conversations with your baby. It’s important during these early months to keep stimulation low so your baby can rest and relax while getting acclimated to it’s new world; however, if you talk to your baby in a soft, low voice, you’re helping to form language and speech patterns. Play music with easy to understand lyrics, too.

4m-9m

Read to your baby! You’re right, baby can’t read yet, nor do they have any idea what you’re saying, but they’re benefitting greatly from hearing your voice, listening to the flow, volume, and tone while you read, and they’re beginning to develop language and love reading. Have a room full of different types of books like:

  • Board books
  • Cloth books
  • Pop up books
  • Large print
  • Sensory books

…and wear your baby!

Note: Studies show that baby wearing actually improves language development due to the baby’s proximity to it’s mother’s voice! They hear your volume, pitch, speed, tone, speech patterns, word usage, and breath.

9m-2yr

Start making “story time” a regular part of your daytime and nighttime routines. Don’t be afraid to read “long” books with complicated plots and story lines. You’re building a healthy attention span so don’t focus too much on whether or not they “get it”. They just love hearing your voice.

Reading with my granddaughter

  • Read every day
  • Talk about the pictures
  • Get excited as you read, especially at climactic parts
  • Have your child point to things they know
  • Attend story times in the neighborhood
  • Attend puppet shows

Toddlers/Pre-K Activities:Cloudy reading with LZ

  • Have magnetic letters available around the house on your fridge, a magnet wall, or a cookie sheet
  • Play with alphabet blocks and picture cards
  • Have alphabet puzzles and word puzzles available
  • Draw letters in shaving cream, sand, or in beans (model it for your child)
  • Play “I Spy” with alphabet letters
  • Sing the ABC song, sing “Apples and Bananas” with all the vowel sounds
  • Read and watch Chick Chicka Boom Boom on youtube
  • Read rhyming books, play rhyming games
  • I LOVE Dr. Seuss books!

Work literacy and letter play into your conversations from time to time like this…

Rhyming? 

Child: “Mom, can I have some milk?”

Parent: “Yes. Milk rhymes with silk.Here’s your milk that rhymes with silk.”

Letter Recognition?

Parent: “You have a new friend at school named Skyler? Skyler starts with S like soft and small. Can you think of a word that starts with S and makes the sound like a sssss?”

Characterization?

Parent: Hey, that little girl’s name is Daisy. She’s named after a flower just like in your favorite book, Chrysanthemum. I bet she’s nicer than the mean girls in that book.”

As your kids become school aged you can use these strategies for reading:

  • Eagle Eye (use the pictures to help you with a tricky word)
  • Fish Lips (get your lips ready by saying the beginning sound)
  • Stretchy Snake (slowly stretch out the word by saying each sound that you know)
  • Chunky Monkey (look for chunks in the word that you recognize like blends and digraphs)
  • Skippy Frog (skip the tricky word and read the rest of the sentence to see if you can fill in the blank)
A child reading a story she's written. Writers and readers!
A child reading a story she’s written aloud. Writers are readers!

It’s important to keep reading fun and not frustrating so be sure you not only just practice reading, but also read to them so they can enjoy the stories and remember how fantastic it will be to become a reader!

  • Download sight word cards online or buy some from the teacher stores. Place them around the house.
  • Play “I Spy” with sight words and words they know
  • Continue letter and word play by having them cut out words they know from magazines and build sentences on paper
  • Have them read signs to you that you know they know (Wal-Mart, Target, Chuy’s, your street name, etc)
  • Visit book stores often!
  • Include books in their bag for church, child care, afterschool activities, scouts, etc. Have books in your car, your purse…
  • Act out scenes from your favorite stories as a family and see who can guess the book
  • Host “book parties” and book clubs at your house for your child and their friends
  • Ask for books for Christmas and birthday parties
  • Read stories that inspire conversation like Berenstein Bears, books by Kevin Henkes, and Magic Tree House or Junie B. Jones!

Raising a reader takes an understanding of what makes a reader- a love of stories, letter recognition, and phonemic awareness. Make literacy and words a part of your daily lives as a family and place high value on knowledge and a lifetime of learning!

:: What do you do to inspire a love of books? ::

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