Inspiring Your Children to Read

(This is a guest post. Many thanks to Claudine Williams.)

Are you trying to inspire your children to read? Teaching your children the joy of reading will provide a lifelong skill and give them the confidence to succeed in higher education or any career choice.

Children in elementary school may even be interested in reading short novels. Once they have mastered the basics of reading, it’s time to teach your child how to read for enjoyment and knowledge.

Select Interesting Stories
Try to recommend books that interest your children. Take your children to the bookstore or library and let them choose books with characters or scenarios that they can identify with. Many children enjoy science fiction, coming of age stories or stories about animals.

Preview the Book
Make sure that you read a few pages of the book or a book review before you make your final selection. Some books that seem appropriate for children are not. Ask your media specialist for a list of suggested children’s books. Books lists are also available at Amazon.com, other major book retailers and libraries.

Keep a Reading Journal
Ask your children to keep a reflective reading journal as they read. Ask them to list at least five questions they would like answered in each chapter. You may want to come up with questions for your children to answer, as well.

The questions might include basic reading comprehension questions which answer the question ‘what happened’ and interpretative questions which answer the question ‘why did this happen’. Ask your children to make predictions in the journal, too. Journals help children document their thoughts and expand on ideas.

Read With Your Children
Show your children that you are interested in what they reads by reading with them and initiating discussions about the book. You may also want to lead a small book club with other neighborhood children so your child can view reading as a cool social activity.

Get Started Now
It is never too early or too late to begin a novel reading program with children who have basic reading skills. Plan a pizza and reading break during your regular homeschooling session. You can go a step further and let them read about pizza!

Have you started a book club for homeschooled kids in your neighborhood? If so, share your secrets. Make it easier for all of us to roll reading skills and social skills all into one. Let’s do our best to inspire our children to read.

Comments? Questions? Please email me, TODAY!

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