Helping your child to become a reader

 "As parents, the most important thing we can do is read to our children early and often. Reading is the path to success in school and life. When children learn to love books, they learn to love reading." - Laura Bush

You could say that your baby starts on the road to becoming a reader on the day they are born and first hears the sound of your voice. Everytime you speak to them, sing to them , and respond to the sounds they make, you strengthen your child's understanding of language. With you to guide them, they are well on their way to becoming a reader.

To understand the connection between a child's early experiences with spoken language and learning to read, you might think of language as a four -legged stool. The four legs are talking, listening , reading and
writing. All four legs are importan; each leg helps to support and balance the others. Remember you dont need to be the best reader to help - your time and interest and the pleasure that you share with your child as part of reading together are what counts. Also keep in mind , however , that children don't all learn at the same pace. And even though they learn new things, they may have their own favourite books and activities from earlier that they still enjoy. You are the best person to decide which activities will work best for your child.

Children become readers step by step. By age 7, most children are reading. Again , some take longer than others , and some need extra help. when children receive the right kind of help in their early years, reading difficulties that can arise later in their lives can be prevented. Remember , every step a child takes toward learning to read leads to another. Bit by bit, the child buids the knowldge that is necessary for being a reader. 

Step 1. Talk and listen

Scientist who study the brain hae found out a great deal about how we learn. They have discovered that babies learn much more from the sights and sounds around them than we thought previously. You can as a parent, help your baby by taking advantage of her hunger to learn. 

From the very beginning, babies try to imitate the sounds that they hear us make. They , "read" the looks on our faces and our movements. That is why it is so important to talk , sing, smile,

and geture to your child. Hearing you talk is your baby's very first step towards becomeing a reader, be

cause it helps them to love language and learn words.

As your child grows older, continue talking to them. Ask them about the things they do. Ask them about events and people in the stories you read together. Let them know that you are listening carefully to what they say. By engaging them in talking and listening , you are also encouraging your child to think as they speak. In addition , you are showing that you respect her knowledge and her ability to keep learning . 

The librarian @inspire community library

When Children choose literature - how to get your children reading

“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”
― Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood

Choice is vital to successful reading. When children choose books they are interested in reading, they will read them. Choosing their own books encourages them to assume ownership of their decisions and take responsibility for their own learning. Children should choose a book because they are interested in it, rather than because the level of difficulty seems exactly right.

Parents and teachers should note that offering choices give a certain amount of ownership to the children. That small investment of giving choice keeps them interested in the subject at hand, and keeps students motivated on the topic. Required or forced reading can be very boring. It is a challenge to keep students moving forward in a book they show no interest in, even if the book is required reading

When students have the opportunity to read for pleasure, offering a wide selection of books is critical. Children today have dozens of options for how they can spend their time. Choosing the books they want to read puts that activity to the top of the list. Spending time reading for pleasure, on a topic they enjoy, encourages them to read more. More frequent reading offers a wide variety of benefits, including building a more extensive vocabulary. While having a library in the home is ideal, introducing students to the school library and the public library will help with that diversity of options.

When students read, they want the experience to be more than a required activity they have to perform. The material they are reading should be something they enjoy, not a checkmark in a box. The issue of whether a book is too easy or too difficult is secondary to a personal decision made out of interest. The art of making a wise book choice isnt innate. It may mean learning strategies that will improve the childs ability to choose books that will challenge his or her reading abilities.

When working with children on their book choices, brainstorm with them, the type of books they would enjoy reading. Discuss with them the many different types of genres available such as poetry, mystery , adventure , non fiction, humor etc. Discussing the different kinds of available literature also

guides a parent or teacher or caregiver to what children are interested in. 

Also an important thing to note is that peer influence is a powerful force in the child's world of reading

as it is in the adult's world. 

Freedom of choice is a privilege at any age. Along with privilege comes responsibility . Choosing
literature out of personal preference and desire encourages children to become aware of the importance of their choices in their daily lives. They are choosing different people, places , and things to read about. These choices allow children to step in and out of wonderful worlds filled with unique people and situations never before experienced in their own lives. Choice is important because the power of story plays such a significant role in a child's life. What children learn about the world so often come chiefly from the books they choose to become acquinted with. So choice is vitally important. 

The librarian @inspire community library

How to get your children to love reading - THOU SHALL NOT JUDGE without knowledge of reading behaviour

There is no such thing as a child who hates to read; there are only children who have not found the right book.” – Frank Serafini

The golden question is, 😏 how do i know what my child will read? Since there is no way of determining by the level indicated on a book, a reading level can only be considered as a suggestion. Readability of a book, often refers to what words a child can recognize and/or sound out, but is not necessarily an indicator of what a child comprehends. In other words, just because a child can say a word doesnt mean he knows what he is saying , and when looking for books, we need to put this in mind. 

Did you know, children listen on a much higher level than they read themsleves. Did you also know that a books readability does not take into account any motivations for reading? A book written " on a level" that holds no interest to a child will be much less pleasurable than a book that speaks to a child. The behavioral consequences of reading a book at a level that holds no motivating force will be the same as that of an overly difficult book: a reading turn-off. If a child is higly motivated to experience a book that is above their  level, they will likely seek help in comprehension by asking another reader or by applying strategies such as guessing from context or using a dictionary (which is something that we should encourage). If the child can successfully find that help, the book will in fact be readable and also stretch their vocabulary, word skills, and attention span. and if your highly capable child chooses a low level book, perhaps they will be using it toward higher-level motivations such as integration and invention, or maybe she just needs a reading ego boost or is reading purely for entertainment (so please dont discourage them). 

The danger of relying on levels occurs more often when the level indicates the book is below a

reader. this nasty attitude separates the reader from the artist and serves the reader poorly. The process of leveling usually displaces picture books from the hands and hearts of older readers (includiing adults), even though an excellent picture book can model the highest forms of narrative and visual art.

The more exposure to a print a child experiences, the more likely it is that he will be able to read well. Trust that an enjoyable quantity of quality chidren's books at a variety of levels should yield favorable test results. The key is basing selections on your own child's motivations . 

Reading levels may indeed be useful suggestions when trying to find materials for children with special and frustrating reading challenges such as dyslexia or word recall problems. Reading levels are also useful for children in the midst of emergent literacy.  These children learn sight words and gain confidence from the repetitions and controlled vocabulary found in early reading books. But children who have advanced beyond emergent literacy should not have anything further to prove outside of the sustained motivation to read, which we , as adults, are in part responsible for cultivating, and which all books potentially can fertilize. Too much attention to book levels can create unnecessary dependency on others to determine appropriateness of material. Nobody knows your child better than you do, except maybe your child, so there's your expert consultant. 

You can encourage children to seek help as they read, you can read aloud to children, you can use reading to share in the thoughts and lives of others. When you look at reading as an experience in which there is a constant flow of support, communication, even socialization, as i have suggested, levels fall into perspective.

                                                      The bottom line is, dont let somebody else's way of determining your a reading system define your child, and dont let reading levels level your child's love of reading. 

 Feel free to air your views. Do you think telling your children no or yes to a book affects them? how do you determine what your child is reading?

Remember that INSPIRE library is here to help. We have books of all ages and we work with your child to help them love reading 

The Librarian

credits to Esme Codel for her wonderful thoughts on reading .