Have you ever wondered why we wait until first grade to get our children reading? As an avid reader and a former elementary teacher, one of my goals in life was to be sure I passed down my love of reading to my children. Before age six, children have enormous capacities for learning languages and developing lifelong reading skills. Yet, some struggle to learn and others take to it easily. One of my children took to “reading” to me from her books when she was two. My other child struggled with dysgraphia and presented me with unique challenges! So what can you do to instill a lifelong love of reading? Here are some of my favorite tips on how to instill a love of reading.
How To Instill a Love Of Reading:
1. Read to Your Child. I began to read to my children when the first one was a newborn and when the second was still in the womb. After all, he could hear me reading to his sister! We read at least one story (or a chapter of a book) before bed every day for years. This created a special bond with my kids, helped them relax, and let them learn about the magic of books. These days I cuddle on the couch and read to the two-year-olds. They are always happy to drop whatever they are doing and listen to Maymay read them a story.
2. Set An Example. My kids know that one of my favorite hobbies is reading. We have books scattered through almost every room of our house. They know that my way to unwind before bed is to spend at least a few minutes reading a book. They’ve realized I can never pass by a used bookstore without dropping in, and that even on my travels, a book or two accompany me. Just days ago my son told me, “You know, soon I think you will have read every *book of your favorite genre* ever written. I mean, you read three a week!”
3. Find a Set of Magnetic Letters. I placed magnetic letters on the fridge and let the kids play while I cook. It’s an easy way to learn letter recognition and improve their vocabulary skills. I talk to them about the letters, what sounds they make, and what words start with the letters. They think they are playing and it’s easy for me to keep them in sight. It’s a win-win.
4. Create a Reading Nook. One of the ways we encouraged a love of reading is by setting up our own reading nook. The baby in our family has had her closet transformed into a small nook with a beanbag chair, a braided rug, baskets of books and stuffed animals.
5. Check out Books on Tape. Books on tape are great to listen to in the car, especially on road trips!
If you want to delve into a reading program, try the step-by-step, guided instruction from Ucan Courses. This can help give your child the advantage of a lifetime. A proven method for teaching your child to read by first grade that’s getting attention around the country, it gives kids a head start on learning, boosts their confidence, and eliminates the feeling of being overwhelmed so many parents have on the first day of school. Most of all, it puts the parent in the driver’s seat to help with your child’s learning. All you need is 10 minutes a day for 15 days!
Meet Shelana
Shelana is a first-grade teacher with more than 20 years of experience. She’s also a wife, mother, and grandmother. And, she can be your Ucan coach, guiding you in teaching your child to read.
Why Do Parents Love Ucan Kids?
It’s fun, easy, and can be used at your child’s own pace. Anyone can use the program; parents, nannies, grandparents, you name it, to get results. The program helps builds skills in comprehension and retention which are essential for young learners and can have your child reading – and understanding – full sentences by first grade!
Ucan Kids can be used by anyone including:
• College-focused parents with an eye on their favorite alma mater who want to give their child every advantage.
• First-time parents who want to benefit from Shelana’s proven methods for teaching kids.
• Busy parents who want to spend time with their kids and create a special bond with 10 minutes of paired and shared learning. c
• Homeschooling parents who use the program as a foundation for learning.
• Parents of a child with learning challenges (like dysgraphia!) who will benefit from early attention.
When you try this method for learning to read, you’ll also get super parenting tips and tons of support, games, and tools to download, and the joy that comes when you see your child reading, retaining, and comprehending words. We all know that to our children, education really is the future. Once your child has discovered the magic of reading, a whole world of learning awaits. Their imagination can take them anywhere and they can dream big dreams!
If you’d like to try the program, you can sign up for the free 10 Step Cheat Sheet here. You’ll get three free training videos to try. Or if you are ready to start, try this limited time offer. Begin immediately by enrolling in the full online course. You’ll still receive the cheat sheet, the free training videos, and all the bonus educational tools. You can learn more here. Be sure to check out them out by visiting their hashtags on social media, #ucancourses and #ReadBeforeFirstGrade.
This sponsored post is brought to you by The Ucan Group and coordinated by Wendy’s Bloggers.
Yes reading to kids and develop reading habit from yearly stage is important. My son loves to read, while daughter is not that fan of reading. Thank for the tips I will keep in mind.
This is such a very important issue. Reading skill is something that will impact their success for the rest of their lives.
Thank you all so much for your feedback.
I am glad that you agree with what I believe in and with what I am trying to achieve with my course.
One of the key reasons, amongst others, why I created this course was to help a child build self esteem and cope better with the basic demands faced in school.
Make sure you have a look at the links above.
YES!!! I am a former elementary teacher and this is what I used to tell parents every year! I am so glad to see it here in print as well.
I have read with all of mine from the day they were born, long before they even knew what I was saying! Now my children are each 4 years ahead of their age group in reading, I am very proud of that!
We used to read to our children when they were younger. My daughter is now 13 and son 12 and they still love to read..
I think that it’s very important to get my children reading. The first step is reading them every day. I also give them often the chance to choose in the library the books they love so we can read them together.
Reading is such a fun activity for kids once they see it that way. It takes some longer than others to come around to it but well worth the work.
These are awesome and helpful tips. Setting an example is a great way to encourage our kids to read. Good thing my daughter loves reading books.
These are all great tips! I have three kids, two that are big time book worms and one that I still have to encourage a lot to read. He is my youngest and does enjoy us reading to him, but he does need to get confidence in reading for himself.
I did all of these things and all 5 of my kids enjoyed reading when they were growing up. Some were more prolific readers than others, but now only two of them read books for pleasure. They are quick to remind me that they read all the time, just not books.
These tips are really helpful. I used to read to my son all of the time when he was younger. It’s such a great way to introduce reading and make it into a daily routine.
My kiddo is not a big reader and I wish he was. We do read to him every day but it really has not been taken effect on him as far as him wanting to read. I’m going to try a few other of the steps and see if they help.
I’ve been at a loss of what to do lately. Since the kids his tween and teen years, I can’t get them to read at all. I’ve always read to them from birth onward and tried to make it fun for them, and it was until these past couple of years. I hope your tips can help me turn this around because I know how much reading will help them with high school and college.
Yes! I always had books for my kids when they were tiny. I think that’s important. I’m a big reader as well.
My husband and I both love to read. Now all our children enjoy reading as well. We did all these things. It works