5 Simple Steps to Fostering a Love of Reading: What I've Learned As I've Watched My Girls Teach Themselves to Read

This post was inspired by an excellent blog post at Fanny Harville's Unschool Academy, which talks about linear vs. non-linear reading with young readers (specifically, her son), or "dipping" into books as opposed to reading them straight through. "Dipping" into books is a very common practice of young readers, but often not talked about, let alone understood. It can cause anxiety on the part of parents, as Fanny forthrightly discusses in her post. Go read her post; it's an important topic. I have been mulling over the whole learning-to-read-naturally in general, but especially in regard to fostering a love of reading in my girls. Here are my thoughts on the issue and what the process looks like for us. Deep breath...here goes...

We adults spend so much time worrying about our children's reading abilities, that we've created complexities where there don't need to be.

First, keep in mind two things:

Children learn to read when they have an internal incentive to do so. Sure, they can be forced into reading at home or in school, but children who are forced to read and never given the chance to foster the internal DESIRE to read, do not read well or voluntarily, for their own enjoyment. I think this is where public/private schools fail: they force kids through plodding, boring reading exercises that tend to kill the love of reading rather than foster it.

Children are hard-wired with curious minds that yearn to "de-code" the world they live in, IF they are free to de-code it in their own way. The desire to read, if fostered gently, is a natural corollary of that need to "de-code" life. It doesn't have to be a painful, unpleasant process. And it doesn't need to be forced or fretted over. We need to trust in that innate desire to learn. They will ask for the help they need. ("Mom, what does ... spell?") And parents can take opportunities to teach very brief "lessons" here and there, as the opportunity and need arises. (For example, I taught my girls their vowels to the tune of "Old MacDonald".) Do NOT belabor the point. This is about their learning in their way, not about you and your desire to impart knowledge and wisdom. (Where we, in this country, got the idea that children have to be able to read by the time they're ages five or six, I don't know. But I think it's asinine to assume that every child should be ready to read at age five.)

5 of the best, most effective ways to instill and develop a love of reading:

   1. Provide a text-rich environment.
This means having books in your home, and making frequent trips to the library. It means that your children need to see you reading books for fun. Children who witness their parents reading for pleasure absorb that this is a desired activity, especially when they see their same-gendered parent reading. (This is especially true of boys.)

   2. Strew, or strategically scatter (spread around the house, on obvious surfaces) a mixture of reading materials (e.g. magazines, specific books, maps, phone books, etc.)
A marketing strategy that works! A variety of materials gives kids experience and familiarity with text in all its various forms. And opens doors of discovery and discussion, and new interests.

   3. Read aloud to your children DAILY with expression, proper syntax and cadence.
Let me point out that audiobooks are good, but they should never replace YOU, as the read aloud adult. There is something about the physical act of reading aloud with your children sitting beside you or near you that helps their brains process the reading experience in a personal way. If your child is in a two parent home, both of you should be reading aloud to your children. It broadens their "de-coders" to hear books read "live" by different people. If you can do only one thing from this list, make it this one. Reading aloud with expression plays a HUGE role in your child's reading and language development, and is absolutely essential to foster a love of reading. This step is also key to keeping alive the love of reading in your pubescent boys, who for some reason frequently become more averse to reading for pleasure during middle grade years.

   4. Limit your children's viewing of television and their online/video gaming activity.
This is especially important in those early, pre-reading years. I know this advice will not be popular in some quarters, but TV, computers, and video gaming teach a child's brain to rely on extremely quick, constantly changing images and functions, in other words, rapid stimulation. Children who live in visual media-intense households have very little or no patience with text-rich experiences, becasue their brains haven't built those pathways. Books to media-saturated kids are boring compared to constant, ever-changing images. I have seen this time and again as the common denominator over the years with friends who lament their child's disinterest in books and reading.

   5. Find books that appeal to them, that they want to pick up and look at, regardless of the "reading level."
Yes, this includes comics. This doesn't have to be books that necessarily appeal to you and your desire to introduce them to "good" literature. If the reading level of the book they want to read is beyond their ability, or all they seem to want to read are books below their reading level, don't stress. It is the physical act of reading a desired book that is so critical. Also know that you don't have to read everything out loud. It helps keep their interest piqued if there are books that they want to read, but you won't read. I'm speaking here of kids ages 4 and up. If your baby or toddler brings you a book to read, read it, no matter what. If it's one you don't want to read, you can grab a more desirable one, and simply say "How about we read this one instead?" And if they bring you something that you know isn't going to keep them interested for long, just pull them on your lap and talk about the pictures or what's happening in the story.
  
There you have it: simple steps you can take to foster a love of reading. Your kids will take it from there. Relax and enjoy the ride. (But keep the books coming.)

 Questions? Concerns? Comments?

(Also check out an earlier post Reading Aloud: The "Secret" to Reading Success.)

Reading Aloud - The "Secret" to Reading Success

  I am a passionate believer in the necessity and power of reading aloud to children. One of my earliest memories of my mother is of sitting snuggled into her arm as she read aloud to me before bed. I was three years old. My mother read aloud to me until I was 14 years old. Too old, you say? NEVER, I say.

  Reading aloud is, in my experience, the most important way to ensure a child's reading success. 

Reading stories aloud from an early age exposes children to the rhythm and cadence of purposeful, deliberate, spoken language - to the magical flow of language. It exposes them to a vocabulary and way of using words that they might not hear in their everyday verbal interactions. 
  Reading aloud makes them excited about books and stories. For this reason, reading aloud is one of -if not the best way to help a struggling reader.
  You can always spot a child who has not been read to. They read with no expression, in a choppy manner, showing no understanding of how the sentences they are reading should sound. They have no comprehension of the flow of language. To children who have never been read to, the words on the page are just that: words, to be struggled through. And I'm not talking here of just-beginning-to-read children. Children who are just beginning to read on their own will sound wooden until they get to be more proficient, then the exposure to the flow of the words will kick in - if they've had that exposure in the form of being read aloud to.

  Generally, as our children age and life gets busier, reading aloud stops. For some families it stops as soon as the child learns to read aloud themselves. What a tragedy! There are wonderful benefits from reading aloud into the teen years.

  Reading aloud can expose children to stories that are too advanced for their reading level, stories that would be too discouraging to try on their own. 

My mother started reading The Lord of the Rings series to me when I was nine. And I loved it. It led me to turn right around and read it for myself once we were done. Before that, the size of the books and the complexity of language seemed too beyond me. But reading them aloud changed my perception of "too difficult".

  Reading stories out loud that have tougher emotional issues lets you control their exposure to those issues in a safe environment. 

It gives them the "experience" without the negative consequences, and can serve as a memory when faced with real-life situations. The story can prompt some great discussions that would be too awkward to bring up under normal circumstances.

  Reading aloud can expose your kids to book options that they would normally never consider. 

I'm thinking here of my own experience with not wanting to read "boy" books, until I was read some great stories aloud. Likewise, boys exposed to "girl" stories from a young age might not turn their noses up later in life at books with girl protagonists. (No guarantees!)
  In our case, I feel it's important to read books with male protagonists because my girls don't have brothers. So it helps give them the experience of the young male perspective that they're not getting in real life.
  This also helps with subject matter that you know they wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole on their own (e.g. historical fiction), but they'll accept it readily if it's read aloud, and probably end up seeking out other books on the subject. Or not. But at least you know they've been exposed to it.

  Reading aloud creates warm and wonderful memories, and can increase the power of corresponding experiences. 

Those of you who have been read aloud to can utter a hearty amen to this.  

  Reading aloud to your pre-teen and teen can help you all slow down and connect again, even for a brief time, over a shared experience. 

And what parent can't use more bonding time with their teen? If you haven't been doing it, it may feel odd at first, but trust me, despite any awkwardness or indifference they may display, secretly they will like it.

  And last but not least - 

Reading aloud lets you share your love of books with your children.



  Can you think of other benefits of reading aloud that I haven't mentioned? I'd love to hear your experiences with reading aloud.