How To Make Reading a Fun Family Activity

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One of the key things I often speak to parents about is ways to encourage reading at home outside of bedtimes. Here are 5 really simple ways that you can make reading a fun family activity and a priority in your home at all hours of the day.

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1.???? Schedule reading time: this can be daily, weekly, monthly…whatever suits your family. Schedule a time to all sit together and read and make it a fun and appealing time-get some nice snacks in, put on some relaxing music, maybe even go out to a café. Make it as special as you can so that your children have really happy memories of this time.

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2.???? Discuss Books: Ask them what’s happening in the books they are reading and talk about yours. Tell them about books you enjoyed when you were their age and the books you enjoyed together when they were children. You can ask them to make comparisons, predictions, links to real life or movies or TV programmes they have enjoyed. This will not only help them to develop their reading tastes as they explore what they do and don’t like but it will also help with their comprehension skills.

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3.???? Read together: Just because a child is old enough to read independently, doesn’t mean that there are no longer benefits to reading aloud to them. Children who are read to from ages 0-5 are 18% more likely to read frequently BUT this percentage jumps to 33% if you continue to read to them from 5-8 years old. Also, this is a great opportunity to model fluent reading to them, teach them how to pronounce word correctly and introduce them to slightly more challenging books.

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4.???? Create reading spaces: Create clear reading zones in your home. This might be as simple as putting a chairor cushion ?in a place where there are no other distractions (e.g. TV ) and putting a box of books next to it. For younger children you could add some favourite stuffed toys too to make it look extra cosy and inviting.

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5.???? Let them see you reading: This is my favourite tip, because it means me doing more reading! If your children see you reading for pleasure, they are more likely to read for pleasure themselves. In fact, according to research conducted by Booktrust, 90% of children whose parents/carers enjoy reading liked to read compared to 70% where they didn’t.

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I hope you found these tips useful. There’s a lot of conversation and worry around how well our children are reading but hopefully you find these tips simple to implement and they help you to help your children discover a love of reading. Happy reading!