Reading to and with our children is one of the best ways we can help them continue learning throughout the summer. But it can be difficult to encourage if your kids don't enjoy losing themselves in a good book. So what can you do to make it fun and exciting for them?
* Read together and act out the story. Bring the book to life by reading the story, letting the kids pick out who they want to play, creating costumes, and acting it out.
* Find out what genre they enjoy reading. This can take some time. Try comic books, magazines, brochures, anything that might spark an interest. My husband didn't enjoy reading at all when he was younger. Once he realized he loved reading about money (making it, investing it, saving it, etc.) it opened so many doors for him.
* Talk about each chapter. I had one of my boys do this to help with his reading comprehension years ago and he continues to do it today because it helps. It gives the reader a break at the end of each chapter while reassuring he/she understands what they just read. It also presents the parents with the opportunity to ask questions like: "What do you think is going to happen next?", or "If you were the writer, is there anything about that chapter you would have changed?"
* Have an award for each book completed. Some kids work harder when there is an award at the end of the road. Let the child choose the award. You might be surprised by their efforts.
There are so many resources to help parents and children have access to reading material. The library and the web are obvious (and great) choices. If you want to try a new alternative for your younger readers, Bookroo.com is a company that delivers new books to your door each month. They are offering a special promotion in honor of John Newbery's birthday -- a "Buy One, Give One" deal. The creators of Bookroo.com want to share the gift of reading by giving the next 250 new customers a coupon for a FREE one-month subscription -- a gift subscription! Sign up and send a friend a free one-month subscription. What a great friend! I've also attached a $4 coupon below.
Whichever method you use and resource you utilize, keep your kids reading! Not only is it great for the development of these young minds, it also creates great bonding, quality family time. "The more that you read, the more things you'll know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."
Click here for the $4 coupon: bookroo.com/ac/BLOGENJOYTODAY4
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| Summer Reading |
