As parents and guardians, we have endless opportunities to offer gifts to our children. Some of the most valuable gifts I received from my parents as a young child included access to countless books, precious time dedicated to reading and adult reading role models. Our children should all be so lucky!
Here are some tips for modeling the joy of reading at home with your child:
Read picture books to your child daily! Picture books have more complex vocabulary and themes than most of the leveled texts your child is practicing on their own. Let these themes guide your conversations about the books you share together.
Spice things up when reading fiction by using a variety of character voices, talking about the feelings of each character and how the characters change over the course of the story. Brainstorm about why the author made the choices he/she made when writing the story.
To foster curiosity, research new things about a topic of interest by reading informational text with your young learner. Discuss the features of the text (captions, table of contents, boxes/bullets, glossary, etc) and how they help the reader gain information.
Model a love of reading by reading things that make your heart happy in front of your child. Demonstrate the importance of reading by chatting about what you learned or earned from the pages in your own beloved books.
You can count on us to spend our days modeling the joy of reading for our students. We invite you to support your child’s reading development by modeling the joy of reading at home as well.
Kimberly Gillow, Principal
North Creek Elementary