Raising Readers

By Mary Gonska

My name is Mary and I’m the mother of four adventurous boys ages 6 to 12. They are active in many varied areas, from sports to art to Legos! They love playing outside, camping, fishing, and shooting bb guns. So, you might be wondering; how do such active boys also love reading and when do they have time for it?

For my boys, their love for reading started early. My husband says it was the daily hours I spent reading to my oldest when he was as young as eight months. Eventually my son, would bring me book after book, and we would sit on the floor and read. His fascination with the pictures and adventures in those early kids’ books planted the seed. Over those first few years, sometimes I grew tired of reading to him so much, but that investment of time spent with and reading to him, opened the wonderful world of exploration books offer.

Before he started school, I tackled the daunting task of teaching him to read. The tool which made that possible was a book titled “Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons.” It teaches phonetic reading (learning letter sounds, to sound out words), rather than sight-words. This method allows readers to learn new words on their own, rather than be intimidated because they haven’t seen them before. Eventually I used that same book to teach all my boys to read! Now, when one of my boys struggles with reading, we work through it together using skills from what I’ve taught them, instead of giving up. Consistent parental encouragement has been a key to my boys sustained reading.

What about older kids? Start with books that fit their unique interests. Between my four boys, topics covered include war stories, dragons, the Adventures of Roman German and the “Action Bible”. Once you find something they like, read it with them! Take turns reading a paragraph, page or chapter at a time. Even having a set time and special spot to read can help. All my kids still enjoy us reading aloud to them and we occasionally will read as a family too.

As my older boys have begun to read more mature titles, we have stayed connected by using audio books. This way, my husband or I can listen to the book the boys are reading and have meaningful conversation with them on it. With my younger boys, most days they read aloud to me for 10-15 minutes and I ask questions testing their comprehension. This helps me know if they are comprehending words and concepts correctly.

We encourage our boys to bring books with them everywhere. They read while we drive, while we wait at appointments, and when they are “bored.” We have many books on bookcases in their bedrooms, the playroom and lose all throughout our house. All a part of being a mom of readers!

Reading is great, especially for kids. It can take them on adventures or teach them new things. Be encouraging and set an example. Maybe your child struggles and needs your patients to teach them. Or, maybe your child hasn’t found books that interest them. Take some time and find out what it is your child needs and then support them!.