Raising Readers Who Love to Read
By: Becky Cummings
Did you love to read as a kid? How about now, are you an adult that chooses to read for enjoyment?
Many people expect that as an author I must have loved reading and writing as a kid, but the opposite is true. I hated reading and writing through college. I remember those yellow cliff notes saving me quite a few times and begging a boy in my college freshman English class to summarize our required summer reading book. Today I am a total bookworm! I’ve got the Amazon boxes and cluttered nightstand to prove it! So, what changed and how can we encourage our children to love reading?
First, let me explain why I hated reading. From an early age, I remember saying the words but not understanding what they meant. It was confusing and my mind wandered because of that. Before I knew it, I was 3 pages in and had some great ideas about what I was going to be doing after school. Second, I didn’t like the topics I was assigned to read, and because it was boring to me, I avoided it.
Things began to shift for me when I became a teacher and had to teach reading to my elementary students. I was a 4th-grade teacher which meant most of my class had the decoding down. They were masters at saying the words, but it was up to me to help them soak them in and make them meaningful. Since I was terrible at this, it sent me on a quest to be the best reading comprehension teacher I could be. I met with our language arts specialist, watched videos, and even tried to read some nonfiction books to learn.
As I began to teach children the keys to comprehension, I began applying them myself. I was slowing down. I was making pictures in my mind. I was stopping periodically so I could have an internal conversation with the text. I asked questions, made predictions, expressed feelings and opinions, plus more. I got better, my students got better, and reading started to feel exciting. I had always loved learning, and now I could use books as a tool to access any knowledge I wanted. As a bonus, my schooling was over, so anything I chose to read was based on my interests, which was motivating.
Now let’s take these principles and apply them to help your kids become self-motivated readers. Here are 5 tips to raise readers that LOVE to read.
1. Don’t Require, Inspire!
As soon as something is assigned or tested, it takes the fun right out of reading. Imagine if I were to give you a pop quiz on the novel you are reading with a book club. Then assign you a 5-paragraph essay. Do you still want to be part of that club or did I just take the fun right out of it? There will be times we need our kids to read something, but there needs to be plenty of opportunities to read with NO strings attached. Reading can come in many forms whether it’s reading a magazine, book, listening to a book on audio, etc.
2. Read Aloud to Your Kids
Everyone loves a story. Especially when snuggled up with mom, dad, or a favorite teacher is reading it with cool character voices. Reading aloud helps kids work on comprehension skills without the stress of decoding. They can experience the joy of making pictures in their mind. If you choose to discuss, ask open-ended questions with no right or wrong answers to take the pressure off. I love asking kids, “What are you thinking?” and then probing further. This allows them to speak freely and lets you see what they are getting out of a particular piece of literature.
The Magic of Me series is an excellent place to begin for read aloud. For kids ages 8-12, start with The Magic of Me: A Kid’s Guide to Creating Happiness. It has about 30 lessons all kids need to be healthy and happy as they navigate the world today! Each chapter is a quick read followed by a few discussion questions. It inspires kids to love themselves, love others, and love God. Topics range from friendship, healthy eating, video games, bullying, and more.
For younger children, check out The Magic of Me picture book series. My Magical Words is the first in the series of six books. It teaches kids that their words have magic power. What they say about themselves is important. That is because what we say we feel, what we feel we believe, what we believe we become! This book teaches 12 positive affirmations that grow confidence and self-love. Perfect for all children, these “I am” statements remind them they are special, loved, smart, strong, and much more.
3. Provide A Culture of Reading with Time and Space
In my house, when we are home, we do quiet time in our rooms for about an hour each day. No technology is allowed. This gives my kids a chance to do something relaxing and choose reading if they desire. Do they choose it every day? No, but it encourages them to pick up books on their own without competition from TV, video games, and computers. It also gives me a chance to sit down and read. When kids see their role models reading, it sends a positive message that reading is fun and enjoyable. We also have bookshelves in each of the kids’ rooms and a few of our common spaces in the house. Everywhere you go there are books!
4. Allow Choice Based on Interests
I used to think I was blessing my kids by ordering tons of popular books for them on Amazon and leaving them all over the house! To my surprise, they just walked by them. One day my son told me, “Mom we don’t like these books, we want to pick our own out!” So simple, yet I had missed the mark. They wanted to choose their own books. So, the next weekend I took them to Barnes and Noble and let them pick out books. It was like watching kids in a candy store. My oldest son picked a book on gaming, my middle son picked a huge Lego book, and my daughter picked something with a princess on the cover. They were happy to read those! If the books are tricky, read them with your child. If they are easy, great! Everyone likes an easy read. It builds confidence and fluency, so don’t stress if your kid is reading books that seem below their reading level. Imagine if someone told you your summer beach read is below your grade level so perhaps you need a different choice! You’d be thinking, just let me read! That’s how your kids feel too!
After a while Barnes and Noble got pricy, so we committed to get to the library every few weeks. I promised myself to keep count of them, 5 books each, to avoid missing books and fines. When we let kids pick their own books and show them many choices, they are motivated, just as we would be
5. Take It Up A Level
Do you know there is a whole theme park based on a kid’s book series? You can thank Harry Potter for that! Why not plan a trip to Orlando and check it out after you finish the Harry Potter Series? How about encouraging your child to start or join a local or online book club? Maybe you watch a movie that goes with a book your child just read! How fun to see the way it comes together in Hollywood. Perhaps there is a certain topic in a book your child shows interest in. What a great opportunity to visit a museum or special place to learn more. The opportunities are endless!
Don’t be stressed if you have a child that hates reading. Just know that it can change over time with the right encouragement. Try the gentle ways listed above to bring back the joy of reading to your children. Whether you homeschool or send your kids to private or public school, it’s important to make reading a part of your home culture, read aloud to them as often as possible, and provide them free choice.
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