Do you sometimes feel like your story times are getting repetitive? Maybe you feel like your child isn't enjoying reading as much as before; or your reading time just hasn't taught them as much as you'd like and you want your child to learn more through it. Well, first things first - don't worry, we got you.
In this article, we're going to share 6 tips that are going to help you and your child get the most out of their reading journey. These tips will:
- help your child to enjoy reading more,
- get your little one involved with story time and in turn,
- improve communication skills,
- help continue to develop their beautiful, unique personality traits,
- help your child to learn new things along the way
- learn new skills other than reading through reading.
Let's get started.
Our first way to improve reading time with your tiny tot may seem like an obvious one but it is an important one, and it is to not have any distractions around when reading. As we have mentioned in previous articles, having a reading spot and a regular reading time will really help your child enjoy reading more, so make sure this time is not mixed with the TV in the background, lots of other books nearby to get distracted by, other people walking around, etc.
Having a quiet time where they can get really get immersed in a good book will help children to learn more from the story and start developing a love for reading.
Incorporate some learning into reading time by highlighting things in the stories/books that they have learnt recently, for example, letters, numbers, colours or animal names. Point them out enthusiastically, or ask questions about it to see if they remember that they have learnt it. Using a fun activity like reading to learn will help kids pick up things very quickly.
Kids love learning new things, and as most parents may notice, they love telling everyone things they know. Kids will love to see things they have recently learnt in other places like their story book. It is also a great way to reinforce what they have learnt and a fun little review session.
Try to find educational books that have review sections. This will help kids remember the new words, vocabulary or sentence structures they have just learnt. Even when they don't feel like reading a whole book, you can just use the review section to read the new words and find these things throughout the book or in the pictures. You could even make a game out of it!
All of I-Tots Books have a review section for this very reason!
If you feel your child isn't enjoying reading as much as you'd hoped, try incorporating different genres into your story times. Some books that almost every kid will love are funny stories. Stories with a sense of humour help kids to develop their own sense of humour too. This trait definitely helps us all throughout life to not take things too seriously. These types of books are great to introduce to kids who are just starting out their reading journey.
Another great way to get more from reading times is one of our favourite tips: try buddy reading. Either invite some of your child's friends over to read together and talk about their favourite books, or have your older sibling read to their younger brother or sister. Not only will this help the younger view reading in a different light hearing it from a peer, but it will also help the older one develop his/her communication skills, expand his/her imagination and help them grow their love for reading!
Our final tip for getting more out of reading with your little one is to add more activities based on the story. You could think of some games, print some worksheets or watch a video related to a story you recently read. This will help children to see the story from different angles, impress on them the new words or ideas they learnt or find different ways of expressing/explaining new concepts.
So in conclusion, from using different way to review what children have learnt to using a variety of activities related to stories they've read, there are many ways we can get more from reading than just reading. Help your child to learn more, express more and enjoy more by using these tips.
What do you like to do with your child to make their reading time more meaningful? Let us know below!
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