Lots of Gratitude for Helping Your Children to Love Reading

Gratitude-Reading

Nothing bring more gratitude to me than a visit to my local library! My local library recently merged with the County Library, so the level of services has increased dramatically! I was in the library recently and noticed all the parents with their children – what a great thing to teach children! I am grateful to have grown up with parents that were voracious readers! My mom was even a librarian! I think that is where my gratitude for local libraries originates!

Enough of my history… Here are some tips to help your children love to read.

First of all, when you help your kids to love reading, you are providing a gift that will enrich their personal and professional lives for the rest of their lives. Even though teachers play an important role, keep in mind that parents are a child’s first teachers. To nurture the love of books, parents should begin reading to their children as soon as possible. They can also set the example of the importance of reading and visiting the library!

Consider the following tips to help build literacy skills in your child at every stage of development.

How to Help Younger Children Become Grateful for Reading

1.    Start by simply reading to your baby whenever you can. It’s never too soon to get started. Read to your baby for as little as just a few minutes at a time until their attention span grows. Point out the pictures. Use rhymes and songs to teach language skills.

2.    Continue reading books out loud as your child gets older. Reading to your child is one of the most valuable ways to spend your time together. Make story time a regular routine before bed or anytime that works with your daily schedule. My father would tell us stories all the time!

3.    You can make reading fun and interactive. Try to get yourself in the habit to read in an animated fashion. Encourage your child to read some passages aloud to you or to their brothers and sisters. Share questions about what you read together or make up your own variations on the story. Express your gratitude to your children about how good it feels for you to see them reading together.

4.    Enlist your child’s teacher as an ally. Develop regular communications with your child’s teacher. Be open to feedback provided. Teachers may spot any areas of weakness in reading skills that you can work to correct before they become serious issues. They can also help recommend titles that your child might enjoy.

5.    Visit your local library and bookstores. Take your child along to the library and to children’s events at local bookstores. Get them a library card of their own as soon as they’re old enough to do so. Your children will feel the joy and gratitude of having their own, personal card! It will make them feel important!

6.    Encourage your child to write. Giving your child opportunities to write will help reinforce their literacy skills. Leave each other notes on the refrigerator. Write emails and greeting cards together. How about having a lot of fun with this and starting a join Blog with your child and you?! This is a great way to spend quality time together and even share activities with family and friends all over the world! (If you are interested in doing this and want help, let me know! I can get you started for only a few dollars a month!)

As today’s Gratitude Burst read, “You are the same today as you’ll be in five years except for two things, the books you read and the people you meet.” Read all you can. Think about what you read carefully, and carefully think about what you’re reading. Get your children reading or involved with books as early as you can.

Be Well.
Paul.
The Gratitude Guru

1 Comment

  1. Laurence Hansen on February 13, 2011 at 8:31 pm

    I love the idea of a joint family blog involving the children.
    Brilliant!

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