Getting Your Children Interested in Reading and Writing Reading and writing are obviously very important skills for everyone to have. Reading and writing are not only essential for school and work, but they are excellent ways to expand imaginations and explore the world. Starting kids reading and writing young is a great way to create excitement for literacy. There are lots of fun, time-proven ways to get your kids to love reading and writing. Here are just a few of them:
Teach by Example Let your kids see you reading and writing for pleasure. Curl up on the couch and read your favorite novels. Write hand-written letters to far-away family members. E-mail friends frequently and let your kids contribute to the content. Young children idolize their parents and mimic their actions. Your kids will want to learn to read and write because they see you doing it too.
Read with Them Every kid should experience bedtime stories. Children’s books are filled with adventures, faraway lands, exciting characters, and important lessons. As you re ad to your kids, be expressive! Change your voice for different characters and dramatize excitement, sadness, confusion, and other emotions. As they get older, run your fingers along the words so the kids will become familiar with the shapes of different words. Have them repeat the words after you, or whisper the story in their ear and let them tell it out loud. If you read the same story over and over, start familiar sentences and let the kids repeat the end from memory.
Review with Them Not only do bedtime stories slowly teach kids how to read, but they provide wonderful family time. Experiencing adventure together is a priceless opportunity. It also helps kids wind down from the day and prepare to sleep. In the mornings, you can review the story and work on their memory. As an afternoon activity, they can draw pictures from the story and practice writing down names of characters, places, or objects from the story. They can even begin to make up their own stories, and as they get older, they can write and illustrate their own simple books.