It’s simple really, reading is fun! Reading is learning, and as the age old saying goes, it’s fundamental! I’ve loved reading since I was a kid, and I still do. It’s just that these days I’m reading Goodnight Moon, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Guess How Much I love You (to name a few). There’s something fun about beans leading to a beanstalk in the sky where a giant lives. There’s magic in reading, and adventure. I know how much reading helped shape my imagination, expand my vocabulary, and teach me other interesting facts, so I’m hoping to carry those things over to help my children gain a love for reading too!
I admit, I was one of those moms who read to her babies while they were in the womb. It was a regular thing. Before Landen was born I had a whole collection of books for him (that I’m now reading with his baby sister). Once born, I read to him several times a day and he always seemed to be tuned right in. But what really changed things is the My Superdad, or “daddy book” as Landen would call it. I had this book made for Trey’s first Father’s Day. I thought it would be awesome to have a hard cover book with his dad’s picture on every page with a cape on like a real superhero. It was perfect! He LOVED it. His dad was in a book, eating pizza with a gorilla, flying through the sky, and taming a crocodile. What kid wouldn’t enjoy that??? Landen was 10 months at the time and is 3 now, and it’s still highly requested to read at night before bed.
He loves books all on his own now. We made a reading nook in his room, and he can reach the shelves and pick which books he wants to read. He has his own library card and uses it to check out books and movies at the local library. We’ve done the summer reading program from the library for the past 2 summers and currently working on 1,000 books before Kindergarten (also a program through EBRPL).
More than anything, I love the little time that I get to spend with Landen and Ava when we’re reading. I love that even though Landen interrupts me and asks a ton of questions before I get through each page, he’s enjoying listening to me. I love that he’s learning, and I love that it’s something that both of my children will remember us doing together. It’s never too early or too late to develop a love for adventure through reading with your kids. Here are some of the ways we’ve done that with ours.
5 Simple Tips to Encourage Young Readers
1. Develop a routine at night that includes a bedtime story.
2. Attend story time at your local library.
3. Sign up for Summer reading programs at your local library.
4. Attend story time at Barnes and Noble
5. Let them pick the books that they want to read (because they love feeling like they’re in charge).
Happy Reading!
Taresa Sneed
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