The end of summer is already in the air, and thoughts of a new term are beginning to loom. It’s time for thoughts of new term resolutions, new stationery and new regimes to surface, and we've been thinking of ways to re-establish positive habits.
Perhaps your children’s usual routines and habits have gone gloriously out of the window for a summer of running free and you are worrying about the routine of the school term? Or perhaps it is your own inner child, remembering the feeling of the discipline that a new term brings that turns thoughts toward re-establishing habits and routines?
One habit that it always make sense to establish, especially for children, is reading. We all know that reading is ‘good’, but why, exactly? How do children benefit from regular reading, and more importantly, what can we do as parents or adults in their lives to help nurture the skill of reading, and encourage reading for pleasure?
It’s hard to overstate the benefits that reading for pleasure and leisure bring for children of all ages. Reading for fun increases a child’s propensity for academic success, giving them a fantastic groundwork in general knowledge, an improved vocabulary, enhanced empathy and understanding, and a boost of self-esteem. Readers achieve better educational outcomes, but this is not limited to literacy alone. Readers also achieve higher levels of numeracy and verbal reasoning.
Books offer points of connection beyond the mundanity of our everyday lives, giving us insight, joy and hope when life feels bleak, and inspire us to look up from the pages and embrace all that this beautiful world has to offer. Reading is a human right, it enables us to dream beyond the constraints of our circumstances, to evolve and develop and fulfil our multiplicity of potentials.
What an exciting privilege to have the opportunity to open a child’s mind to the adventures that wait within the pages of books! So, go forth and travel with them on this amazing journey! Perhaps you will fall back in love with reading yourself at the same time.
Model Reading
Be seen reading, and share your thoughts with your children about what you're reading. Create excitement around books. Children raised in homes with books achieve higher educational standards than those in homes without, and this rises with the amount of books owned. A mere proximity to books works magic!
Access to Books
Ensure books are available to your child. Join your local library, visit your local bookshop, seek out interesting books in charity shops, and look for Little Free Libraries in your area. Most importantly, let your child choose freely, and don’t dismiss their selections. Witnessing them navigating their own reading journey is a wonderful thing.
Read Aloud
Great for bonding time and fantastic for bringing stories to life, reading aloud is a pleasure for the reader and the listener. 10 or 15 minutes a day is the perfect way to wind down together and keep them hungry for more, with books that might be slightly more advanced than they’re able to read alone. It is often the reader that brings the story to life for the listener, so be enthusiastic, try out those funny character voices and engage your little reader in new worlds!
Try Audiobooks
There is a phenomenal array of great audiobooks to try, and maybe this might appeal to some children more than sitting with a traditional book. Audiobooks are perfect for listening together on a long journey, but can also be great for a little downtime before bed.
Don't Focus on Outcomes
Reading should be for fun, escapism, joy, imagination… I could go on. Don’t focus on the outcomes of the reading, let it be for pure pleasure.
Don't Force It
Life is too short to read books you are not really interested in. I have a 50 page rule for books. I'll give them a good go and if I'm still struggling after 50 pages I'll leave it. Let it be okay for children to leave books they're not interested in, too. If they follow their passions, they'll find their way to a book they will fully enjoy.
All Reading Counts!
Comics, graphic novels, instructions, recipes… they are all forms of reading and they all are valid. Just as working out the correct coins at the checkout is no less important than an equation undertaken in a maths lesson, all reading counts.
If you are not sure what books to choose for your child why not treat them to a Willoughby Book Club Children's Subscription. We will select a book each month just for them, chosen for their reading level and interests. What could be more motivating for a young reader that a special parcel for them to unwrap each month?
Here at the Willoughby Book Club we’re passionate about reading for fun, for escapism, and for learning. We aim to build a world where all people have access to books and reading. This is why we donate a book to Book Aid International for each and every subscription purchased. They support projects around the world that give access to books. Do take a few moments to find out about the great work they do.
We also donate books to projects in our local area, and have supported schools, playgroups and more with colourful, engaging books for children of all ages.
It's important that we prioritise reading close to home as well. If you have a library locally, support it! If you have a Little Free Library, donate books and take time to tidy and maintain it. Support your school’s library and pass on books you no longer want to those that would be delighted to have them. Most of all, read openly, joyously, and share the love of books and reading with your family and your community.
