Tips: Encourage Your Kids To Love Literacy & Reading

Research has shown that reading regularly can help to improve not only language skills, but children’s mental well-being as well. When children read regularly, it helps to improve their imagination, develop emotional intelligence, and learn plenty of new things. Not all children love reading for pleasure, but if your child isn’t too keen to sit with books for moments on end, there are lots of things that you can do to encourage it in a positive, pressure-free way.

1 . Educational Trips

If you want to encourage your children to love reading, a great idea is to take them on plenty of educational trips. In Springfield there’s a museum dedicated to Dr. Seuss, there’s also the Eric Carle museum in Amherst MA. In the UK you can visit both the Roadhl Dahl museum and The World Of Beatrix Potter. Pro tip: take plenty of pictures at the museum to revisit with your kiddo later.

Don’t fancy a museum? Kid’s literacy workshops are often geared towards making reading enjoyable. If you’re not sure where to begin you might like to ask your child’s teacher for recommendations. Their teacher should be able to offer workshop recommendations and basic pre-reading strategies.

2. Literacy-Based Games 

It’s a well-known fact that children learn better through play, so why not try a few literacy-based games with your kids? There are plenty of board games that are based on children’s books, here are a few ideas:

Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle: If your kids love Harry Potter, check out the Hogwarts Battle game. The aim of the game is about adding cards to a deck, using magical items, spells, and the famous characters.

Green Eggs & Ham Board Game: This super fun board game is based on the Dr. Seuss book, players are required to match colored cards, and read out the fun rhymes. This board game is aimed at children aged 4 and above.

3 . Check Out Kids Audiobooks

Some children don’t enjoy reading in a traditional sense, but they may very well love audiobooks. Try getting them started on audiobooks and then provide the paper version to read along with. The great thing about audiobooks is that they are so versatile. You can listen at home, in the car, on your iPhone, whenever you like, really. Many audiobooks include sound effects, games, songs, and other cool extras. Plus, if the audiobook is going, chances are you might get an extra moment or two of quiet time to yourself…

4. Design A Reading Space

If you want your kiddies to love reading, try giving them a calm, beautiful place to read. You can make a space with a bookshelf, floor cushions, bean bags, and soft chairs. Perhaps you’d like to decorate with book-themed posters? Or keep their book-themed games here? When your kid has a lovely place to read they will be way more likely to pick up a book.

5. Try Reading Apps

There are plenty of fun apps that can help to encourage kids to read. Most kids just love playing with technology, many kid’s literacy apps include fun characters, games, and songs. Here are a few options to get you started:

Homer Learn & Grow: This app focuses on teaching your child to read, with the help of a customized reading pathway. There are many different reading activities to try, from social learning to math, reading, and problem solving skills.

Bob Books Reading Magic: Using this app your kids can practice phonics, writing, and reading. You’ll love the beautiful hand-drawn pictures and engaging animations.

6. Visit The Theatre 

Literacy doesn’t always have to be about reading books, storytelling arrives in many forms. Consider taking your kids to the theatre, there are often plays and musical adaptations that are based on books. There are lots of ways to help your children feel inspired and creative.

7 . Get Them A Library Card

Last up, you’ll definitely want to get your children a library card. Take them to the library and help them to explore the children’s section. Explain how the library works, and find some books that your kids will love. Most libraries run special workshops for kids so you might want to check these out too. 

There are lots of ways to encourage a love of literacy in your child. As their confidence grows your child will learn which type of books they enjoy, and maybe even start to write their own stories. With a little encouragement, they’ll find plenty of books to get excited about. Caring for children is all about plenty of security, help with working through hard things, and fostering joy. Ensure that you reward your children when they make progress with their literacy.