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Read to or with your child every day, for
at least 15 minutes, even when your child is old enough to read
independently.
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Create reading rituals. Cuddle together in
the same comfortable space at the same time every day for bedtime stories,
read a chapter book aloud at the breakfast table, pick out new books every
time you go on vacation.
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Keep a running conversation: Talk about
books you are reading as you read them. Ask your child open-ended
questions about the plot and characters.
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Show your child that you're a reader. Kids
are more likely to grow up loving to read if they see that you enjoy it
too
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Surround your child with words--spoken and
written--from birth. Even the simplest everyday conversations build his
vocabulary and sound-recognition skills. Frequent exposure to letters and
print helps pre-readers learn the alphabet and recognize words by sight.
Have fun with language: sing songs, read rhymes, play word games.
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Get your child a library card and make a
regular date for visits to the library.
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Make books available in every room of your
home--as well as your car--so that reading can happen spontaneously.
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Feed a passion: Help your child find
books, magazines, and other written materials that relate to a special
interest or hobby.
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Limit "screen time" (TV, video games, and
computer games) so that it does not cut into time better spent reading.
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Writing supports reading and vice versa.
Provide crayons, pens, pencils and paper and encourage your child to
write. Anything will do: letters, shopping lists, journal entries,
original stories, etc.
-- Family Matters: Raising A Reader
