Fun Ways To Help Children Learn To Read
Some kids enjoy learning to read. Others find reading frustrating and tedious. In order to encourage kids to read, it’s important to make this activity fun. Motivating kids can sometimes require a bit of creativity – especially kids who may have disabilities that make learning to read much harder. Below are just some of the different ways in which you can make reading more fun for your kids.
Use toys to familiarise kids with letters and words
You can start getting kids familiar with letters and words very early. This familiarity can make reading much easier for kids to pick up once they reach school age. A few toys that are great for getting kids familiar with letters and words include ABC plushies, fridge magnet letters, letter blocks and coloring books containing letters. There are also electronic toys that you can buy, as well as fun game apps that can help kids to get used to letters and words.
Add some variety to reading time
If reading time becomes too much of a routine it can sometimes feel like a chore. Find ways to occasionally vary up reading time such as reading together in different locations. Also consider reading at different times to see if kids are more motivated at different periods of the day – right before bed may not always be the best time for kids to attempt to read books, and you may get better results reading in the morning or at midday. You can also take turns with sentences or make reading time more theatrical by both putting on funny voices or acting out parts together. This could help kids to look forward to reading.
Experiment with different types of books
There are many different types of books that you can read with kids. Most of us start with short fiction books with plenty of pictures. However, you can also experiment with non-fiction books aimed at kids – some kids may enjoy the reward of learning facts while reading. You can also try pop-up books and comic books and magazines. You can then work out which type of reading material your kids gravitate to and focus more on these types of reading material.
Use songs and rhymes
Songs and rhymes can be useful for helping kids remember spelling of words and grammatical rules. This has been proven to be particularly useful for kids with dyslexia. You can also familiarise kids with words by reading nursery rhyme books – kids may already know many of the nursery rhymes and you can get them to follow along with the words.
Let kids read books below their reading age
Reading doesn’t have to always be a challenge. Letting kids occasionally read books below their reading age could actually improve their reading confidence. Of course, you should still try to push kids to read more challenging books occasionally. However, they should otherwise be allowed to read whatever book they want. This includes letting older kids read picture books if they want.
