The early reading years are critical to reading success.  Study after study has shown literacy researchers that the more time children spend reading, the more skilled they become at reading.  The opposite is true as well.  The less children read, the more they struggle with reading.  This is especially true for developing readers.

This summer provides an important time for you to build the culture of reading for your child at home, one that will let them know that reading is a fun and enjoyable part of LIFE, not just something we do at school.  We spent the entire year building this culture of reading at school.  Almost all of our little ones love reading and are very excited to read because they can actually read the words now and that is highly motivating for them.  I urge you to build on this momentum and make reading part of your family’s daily routine, to make it fun, inviting, and enjoyable for your little one.  If your child has not fallen in love with reading yet, I urge you to help them do so.  It could make the difference between whether or not your child becomes a lifelong reader.

Ideas to make reading fun and inviting for your little ones:

• Start a book club for your child and their friends. Give them special snacks and let them read somewhere fun together (build a special fort in which to read first, read in a tree house or outside on cushions, etc.).  You can let them read through a big stack of books together, like we do at school, or choose one book or a series and end with a related craft or activity.
• Let them help you make some cozy reading areas in your house and stash some of their favorite books in each, or store books in a portable basket/container so they can take them wherever they want to read.
• Let them make puppets, paper dolls, etc. to act out and retell books.
• Let them read books and make them into movies (stop motion or filmed) or have them record themselves reading their favorite books and attach the recordings to QR codes to make audiobooks.  You can even send these to younger relatives (or older relatives) as gifts.
• Set up reading dates with relatives and loved ones, in person or via video call.
• Read through picture books and chapter books together.  (Read Aloud Revival is a great resource for this.)
• Let them pick out some new books to read.
• Set up a writing center for them so they can write their own books, which they can add to their library and read.
• Switch from a nightly/daily TV show to reading time.
• Have designated no-tech time, turn off all the lights, and read by candlelight or flashlight.

Not only will our little ones read to learn throughout their lives, but many of the most successful individuals in our society, such as Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, read daily and attribute their success to this habit.  Furthermore, a study of 1200 wealthy people revealed that they all read regularly.  These individuals read for self-improvement, education, and success, as well as enjoyment.  Perhaps more importantly, reading opens our little ones up to new perspectives, ideas, places, people, and things and can help build and maintain their creativity and imagination.  Building the habit of reading now will help our budding readers become more skilled at reading and build important reading habits, so let’s work together to make our little ones voracious readers who love reading and learning!