Tips to get your kids to read during social isolation
With so much time spent indoors during social isolation, keeping the kids away from screens can be pretty tricky, especially when you’re working from home and hoping they can stay quiet and occupied for the length of your call –at least. On top of that all, there’s the pressure of homeschooling. ‘Should I be homeschooling them?’, ‘How do I homeschool?’, ‘How do I find time to homeschool?’. If you’re thinking all of these things, don’t worry, there are plenty of ways to help your child’s development without you needing to become a teacher. One of the ways is by reading. Here are some tips to help your kids fall in love with reading in no time.
Audiobooks
Though it’snot exactly‘reading’ per-se, listening to a book can be a great entry way into books for kids who are a bit more reluctant to read –it’s also a good way to absorb information without looking at a screen. Audiobooks are also useful for younger children who can’t read yet and can save you the time you’d spend reading them stories to keep them entertained.
Audible are currently offering free audiobooks for kids and Story Nory offers a range of free audiobooks from classic fairytales to educational books.
Cosy reading nook
Reading tends to be so much better when you’re cosy and comfortable and feel like you can float away into the world you’re reading about. Grab as many blankets and pillows you can find in your house and place them in a corner of your house. If you have any fairy lights or Christmas lights lying around that’s always a bonus! Perhaps layout a few stuffed animals to add to the cosiness and to allow your kids’ imaginations to thrive. Stack all the children’s books in that corner along with a speaker or a laptop to play audiobooks. The cosier you make it (and the further it is from your workspace),the better!
Types of books
When children say they don’t like to read it’s often because they haven’t found their type of book. Depending on their age, pick three different books for your kids and have them read one chapter from each. For younger kids, perhaps stick to picture books about three different things, such as fantasy creatures, animals or family. For older children, pick three different genres of books, for example, a fantasy book, a sci-fi book and a historical fiction book. After they’ve read the first chapter have them pick their favourite to read in full.
Reading challenge
Children love a prize, and though you’d ideally love for them to read without an incentive, creating a challenge could be a great way to ignite a passion for reading, so below is a template RESCUE have created for the challenge. Place some coloured pencils in the reading nook and have your children fill out the clocks in the template. For every hour they read they can fill one section of the clock (this in itself tends to be quite fun and satisfying for them). Once they’ve finished one clock, give them a little prize of your choice. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy; whether it’s a later bedtime one night to watch a movie or a cookie baking day together, find something you know will get them motivated and let them read away!
