3 Tips to Get Kids Reading for Fun

Reading is a struggle for some children. They just don´t enjoy it and it isn´t something they would ever consider doing just because. If you have a child like this, don´t despair! Sometimes it just takes a little nudge in the right direction.

The first thing to remember is that anything a child is forced to do is probably going to end up on his “not interested” list and reading tends to be something that we parents push. By letting reading be something fun and non-stressful, you`ll find that your child is far more interested.

1. Read to your kids. The number one best way to get your kids interested in reading for fun is to read to them. Pick up a fun chapter book and start reading a chapter a day with them. Good books to start with include Beverly Cleary`s Ramona series for younger kids, C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicle of Narnia for slightly older (from 2nd grade onward), and John White´s Archives of Anthropos series. All are excellent, entertaining and draw the child into the story. Then, leave them hanging. If you read a chapter book, you`ll notice that most chapters end with a cliffhanger. Stop right there and leave the book in a convenient place. Ten to one, at some point, your kids will start sneaking looks at the book!
2. Give them a reason to read. If a child has no good reason to start reading, he probably won´t bother. With my tutored students, I used to brainstorm reasons with them. Things like reading a map while traveling, figuring out where in the world you want to go, reading street signs, etc. Baking cookies or making pizza is a great way to prove that there is a good reason to cook . . . have the child read the recipe!
3. Make it interesting and fun. When reading is only something you do while sitting at the kitchen table with a dull school book, why would you bother reading for fun? In fact, reading might not seem like anything fun, at all, more of a chore! You can have a lot of fun with it though. Try the recipe idea above, or write out a scavenger hunt list, create a treasure hunt with written clues, or write out a Monster Menu (what they´d serve in a Monster restaurant) or a Fairy Menu, for a less gross version.

Do you have any tips for getting kids to enjoy reading? Share them in the comments.

Tags: fun, homeschool, reading