Consult any children's' expert about enhancing early child development and the one advice that they all agree on is to cultivate the habit of reading. Be it child rearing books or online articles or even your child's pediatrician, they all agree that reading books to young children and then having them read books to you once they are old enough is a habit that will help them tremendously.
Read this post to find out about all the benefits of reading to and with your children.
I agree that the reading habit does not come easily to everybody. I mean, curling up on the sofa with a good, gripping book is not everybody's idea of bliss ! As much as experts say that the more children see their parents read, the more likely it is that they will enjoy reading as well..I think its not necessary to have 300 page books in your hand..you could read magazines, read newspapers, read brochures !! Let the kids make the connection that the written word imparts information that is considered important by their parents.
Getting the books themselves is another important part. That is one thing that I absolutely adore in the US...each city has at least one public library and more often that not ,its very well stocked. Thank you Benjamin Franklin ! Membership is free and in addition to books, you can check out audio books as well. So start there and you are sure to find books to everybody's liking.
Other places to get books would be your child's school library.
The public libraries often have book sales where withdrawn books are extremely affordable, very often priced at $1 each. These is a wonderful opportunity to start building your home library.
Check out half price book stores, garage sales and other book store sales to get inexpensive books.
While choosing books for your child, get those which are age as well as reading level appropriate. If the book is about a topic that is interesting and readable, then your child will show more interest.
My son is currently in the first grade. He has been reading for quite a while now and has progressed to chapter books. As per the suggestion of his school teachers, we make it a point to read daily for at least 20 minutes, either together or individually.As part of an afterschooling program that I am going to start with him, we are going to read as many books as possible, this school year, with a higher emphasis on reading comprehension and spelling.I got a wonderful website from my son's school teacher which has recommended grade wise reading lists. There are also lists available from the library for reference.
We decided to start with a book called 'The Boy Who Loved Words' It is about a boy who collects all sorts of words and sometimes feels alienated from his peers who make fun of him. My son, who has already read this book once gives this one 4 out of 5 stars ! We will make it a point to read the book several times over a period of two weeks. We will do writing assignments based on the book, write the new words that we learn and try and understand the message conveyed in the book.
I hope to make this a regular feature, writing about all the books that we read and learn from and have fun with ! Please join along if you are interested or comment about the books that you have read and enjoyed. Give reading a chance, after all , books are loads of fun, undemanding, always available and informative and educational to boot..what better friends can you ask for ??
Read this post to find out about all the benefits of reading to and with your children.
I agree that the reading habit does not come easily to everybody. I mean, curling up on the sofa with a good, gripping book is not everybody's idea of bliss ! As much as experts say that the more children see their parents read, the more likely it is that they will enjoy reading as well..I think its not necessary to have 300 page books in your hand..you could read magazines, read newspapers, read brochures !! Let the kids make the connection that the written word imparts information that is considered important by their parents.
Getting the books themselves is another important part. That is one thing that I absolutely adore in the US...each city has at least one public library and more often that not ,its very well stocked. Thank you Benjamin Franklin ! Membership is free and in addition to books, you can check out audio books as well. So start there and you are sure to find books to everybody's liking.
Other places to get books would be your child's school library.
The public libraries often have book sales where withdrawn books are extremely affordable, very often priced at $1 each. These is a wonderful opportunity to start building your home library.
Check out half price book stores, garage sales and other book store sales to get inexpensive books.
While choosing books for your child, get those which are age as well as reading level appropriate. If the book is about a topic that is interesting and readable, then your child will show more interest.
My son is currently in the first grade. He has been reading for quite a while now and has progressed to chapter books. As per the suggestion of his school teachers, we make it a point to read daily for at least 20 minutes, either together or individually.As part of an afterschooling program that I am going to start with him, we are going to read as many books as possible, this school year, with a higher emphasis on reading comprehension and spelling.I got a wonderful website from my son's school teacher which has recommended grade wise reading lists. There are also lists available from the library for reference.
We decided to start with a book called 'The Boy Who Loved Words' It is about a boy who collects all sorts of words and sometimes feels alienated from his peers who make fun of him. My son, who has already read this book once gives this one 4 out of 5 stars ! We will make it a point to read the book several times over a period of two weeks. We will do writing assignments based on the book, write the new words that we learn and try and understand the message conveyed in the book.
I hope to make this a regular feature, writing about all the books that we read and learn from and have fun with ! Please join along if you are interested or comment about the books that you have read and enjoyed. Give reading a chance, after all , books are loads of fun, undemanding, always available and informative and educational to boot..what better friends can you ask for ??
Superb post Chhaya loved it!
ReplyDeleteThanks Springbird :) glad you liked it !
DeleteChhaya ... your writing makes me to read :)... what a flow.
ReplyDeleteReading is a good habit to cultivate and who better to get this habit started than we (parents). Reading a book and maintaining a log is a homework right from kindergarten age in each school in USA I believe. Reading is an integral part of US education system and the Govt. made sure they provide this basic opportunity through libraries (Yes ... thanks and hugs to Benjamin Franklin).
Thanks for those useful links. PP are reading Lighthouse Family series, The blue Hill Meadow , Thimbleberry stories to name a few ...
Waiting for part 2 :)
Thanks a lot, Preeti !! it is good that the schools here are cultivating/enforcing the habit in kids..thanks for the suggestions as well..I am sure they are wonderful series...will definitely check those books out.
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