On our daily walk today, we passed a friendly young man with two beautiful dogs. I commented on his lovely dogs. Obvioiusly, very proud of them, he shared more details about their breed, ages, etc. I asked him if he had read, Call of the Wild by Jack London as a young boy. He had not. Yet, my question aroused something in him, and he asked me more about the book. I told him it was all about dogs, such as his and that I had read it aloud to my boys. It was such a sweet moment I shared with my boys that we all three remember it to this day. I told my new friend not to watch the movie first, but to get the book. He nodded in understanding and said he had just started reading for pleasure. We both agreed that during this time of non-travel, etc., reading was more important than ever. As our paths ended together, he looked back and told me I had inspired him to read again. Of course, those were the magic words that made my day.
1. Choose a routine time for reading with your child
2. Along with your routine reading, have times that capture spontaneous reading moments.
3. Think of the right books as being the right tools for your child and as a fun time spent together
4. Be in tune with your child's interests.
5. When reading aloud, be your best drama person.
6. Use reading as a kick-off point to guide you to do more discussion, research, and learning in particular areas.
7. Be aware of the moment your child becomes disengaged and address what is going on. Some children like to keep their fingers busy (stringing popcorn while reading a Christmas story, or coloring while you are reading), others need more personal interaction in the pictures and story (ask them questions about what is happening in the story).
.
8. As your children grow, reading time becomes more and more of a sharing time, very much like watching a good movie together.
9. Model for your children what a good reader is by being a good reader.
10. Include reading for pleasure in both of your lives every day!