I have a few Tips To Motivate Kids To Read. From letting kids choose their own book to letting them see you read – these tips to motivate kids to read will help you raise a reader!
Tips To Motivate Kids To Read
#1 Let kids choose their own books.
Whether you are at the library or choosing a something to read off the bookshelf at home. Let the kids choose their own books.
#2 Let reading be a positive experience.
Read together. Cuddle together. Wrap yourselves in blankets. Let them lay out on the couch and read at their own pace. Basically, let the experience of reading be relaxed and fun. If they want to read upside down. Do it. If they want to read out loud (or silently) do it. But DO NOT make reading a drill. None of this, you misread that word now read the whole page over again. Reading should not be a test or exam. Everyone reads differently (and learns to read at a different pace). Make reading non-stressful.
#3 Guide them towards books which are appropriate for their level.
OK, yes you want them to choose them for themselves but you can guide them to the board book, picture book, graphic novel, YA section of any bookstore or library. 🙂
Aside: My new book Stop Reading This Book is a great picture book for readers. It’s about a book judging a reader by their cover. Would you…could you…Stop Reading This Book?
Available at Amazon.ca, Amazon, Chapters/Indigo, Barnes & Nobel and most bookstores.
#4 Help readers see the importance of reading.
When you are at the grocery store ask them to find the “apples” sign. When you are at a restaurant…read the menu together.
#5 Introduce readers to a series.
From the Mo Willims books (all great!) to The Hunger Games…if you like a book by one author…you will probably enjoy his/her/their other books.
#6 Gift books to their library
Show that reading really is a gift by gifting books at special occasions (birthdays, holidays, etc…). A gift of a book shows reading is not a chore but a present. And books as gifts also builds the child’s personal library.
#7 Allow them to dislike a book.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. And not everyone is going to love a certain book. So recognize if they dislike a book. Perhaps this is an opportunity for discussion: “What about the book didn’t you like?”, “What kinds of books do you prefer?”
#8 Let them see you reading.
Kids watch everything. And if they see you reading…they’ll see it’s part of your lifestyle.
I love your tips. I always let mine read what they like, and if they didn’t like a story I wanted to read to them, I wouldn’t make them listen. Same with my grandkids. They all have different tastes, and that’s okay!