Reading

Parents have been trying to bribe their kids to read more often for ages. Reading is often seen as a sign of intelligence, but more so, reading expands our horizons. In addition, we are told as parents that our kids should be reading a certain amount every day. And so the pressure is on to entice our kids to read or force them to read.

But we don’t merely want our kids to read, we want them to love reading. We want them to love reading like we love reading. So how do we share our passion for reading with them?

We read together as a family every night. Sometimes we get so caught up in making it through the book that we never pause to discuss what we're reading. I recently ran across this article about how adding 30 seconds to your bedtime reading can foster empathy, and I had to try it.

The next night while reading, the main character of our story had just secured his family in a cellar vault, and he was turning around for one last great stand against the impending enemies. I paused and looked up to see how long it would take my doodling listeners to realize that I wasn't continuing.

Reading books to our children isn’t merely an ideal way to cement family relationships or enjoy a pleasant afternoon. It’s an excellent method to introduce new vocabulary words to our children and help them master those words.

Here are 7 easy tips for teaching and reviewing new vocabulary learned during read-alouds with your children. Pick and choose from these different options. You don't want to use every tip for every single new word.

If you do a quick search for early literacy, you’ll find study after study confirming the link between early literacy and future academic success.

Educational organizations and schools have taken this to heart, encouraging direct literacy education at home and providing it in schools. But as homeschool families, we know that play, not targeted instruction, matters most in a young child’s social, emotional, and academic development. The skills so integral to early literacy—observation, critical thinking, questioning, and evaluation—don’t need to be taught through flash cards or lessons.

Our house is full of books, and, of course, being a homeschool family has only added to our collection. I’ve always loved books, and I am a voracious reader. My husband is a book lover as well, so it was natural for our love of the written word to overflow to our children. Although our interest in books came easily, here are five ways that we fostered a family book culture. Replicate these in your home to create a haven for books and reading.