I love to read. Always have. I have such fond memories of reading with my mom and grandma – both book lovers – when I was young, and earned an obscene amount of free pizza by reading all through school (anybody else remember Book It?). When I met my husband, we bonded over a shared love of reading, and we even got married in a library. It’s safe to say we’re bookish.
When we had our son, we knew we wanted to share our fondness of books with him. Much to our delight, he loves reading as much as my husband and I do. While it’s true that some kids are just more naturally-inclined to love reading, I think there are also some things families can do to encourage it. In honor of Book Lovers Day, here are some steps my husband and I have taken to raise a book lover:
Read your books aloud.
When our son was an infant, my husband and I read whatever we happened to be reading aloud to him. Fiction, nonfiction, classics, theology (my husband is in a master’s program) – he’s heard them all. Of course I know he didn’t comprehend what he was listening to, but he started to hear how language works and reading started to become a part of everyday life.
Have books in the house.
I thought I had a pretty solid book collection…until I met my husband. We have a LOT of books in our house. In the living room, in the dining room, in the play room, in the bedrooms, don’t even get me started on the basement. Our son has been surrounded by books from day one, and having them around encourages his interest in them. (It’s also forced us to teach him how to handle books properly; if I had a dollar for every time we’ve had to explain that books aren’t for climbing on, building with, throwing – well, we could buy a lot more books.)
Go to story times.
Did you know that Wichita has TONS of story times? Starting from birth and going up through school-age with songs, crafts, and everything in between – there’s literally a story time for everyone. They’re a great, interactive way to show children that reading is truly fun. Click here for a full listing of local story times in Wichita.
Read chapter books aloud.
A few months ago at the bookstore, our son had his heart set on a chapter book. I explained to him that it wasn’t a book with lots of pictures like he was used to, but he was undeterred. We got it, I figured we could save it for awhile, but then I had an idea. Our son is quite possibly the slowest eater on earth, so we spend a lot of time around the dinner table waiting for him to finish. We’ve started reading a chapter or two from a book while he finishes and he can’t get enough of it. His current favorite is the Magic Tree House series.
Be a book lover yourself.
The best way to teach is by example, right? Let your children see you read. Let them see how wonderful it is to escape into a good story. Let them see how much you love books, and they’ll learn to love them, too.
Photo by Jill Nicole Photography.
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