The new school year is officially underway.
In our house, this also brings a return to routines such as bedtimes, early mornings, after school activities and homework. With three children, this looks a bit more like chaos than a well-oiled machine.
Supporting and guiding children as they practice new routines is important but can also be challenging.
One important routine to include is reading. When a child is young, reading looks like setting apart a few moments to read a story. But, as children get older and they enter school, independent practice is important in order to develop reading skills.
Many teachers assign reading homework, and it varies from child to child, grade level to level, and school to school. But, it serves the same purpose, to help a child grow as a reader.
Although I’m a librarian by profession, I’m a mom first and, believe it or not, I have struggled with incorporating and managing a successful reading homework routine in our home. Over the years, some practices have worked.
When my oldest son was young it was difficult to always find the time to sit with him one-on-one while he read. However, we had a 15-minute commute together to and from school so we spent this time reading. He read to me as I drove and if he got stuck on a word he would spell it out and I would help him. On the commute home we would read again. This helped me to ensure that his reading homework was done every day.
We also listened to short audio books, and he would follow along in the book. This allowed him to both hear and see the words, which helped as he was learning to read.
As a baby and toddler, my middle son listened as well and learned to love audio books just as much as his brother did.
My middle son’s reading homework for the past few years has been to read each night. He knows and understands that he is supposed to do his homework but he’d much rather play his video games than read a book.
Children like this often require a reward for motivation. I found that when children choose their own reward they work harder towards that reward. So, we recently sat down and had a discussion regarding increasing his reading motivation.
We eventually agreed upon the terms of two chapter books in exchange for a specific amount of online currency on his video game. So far, he’s read four chapter books in one week and has asked to go to the public library to check out books from an anime series he likes.
My youngest son thrives on choice and independence. He loves books and we read often throughout the day. However, he only wants to read the books that he picks out. If I suggest a book he will lose interest in it very quickly.
Letting him choose a book from his book shelf or taking him to the public library and letting him choose a book himself has encouraged him at a young age to take ownership of what he is reading and he is more excited about what he is reading.
I have seen this same experience in the classroom and library with students. When a teacher chooses a book for them, the student loses interest quickly, but if it’s a book that they pick out, they are more invested in it and have a greater desire to read.
Allowing autonomy is key in encouraging a love for reading.
I’ve heard before that nothing is better than sharing a book with a child, and I couldn’t agree more. As our children grow it’s even more rewarding to see them enjoy books on their own.
Encouraging them to read and establishing routines in your home that support reading is paramount to their success in school.
As a parent and a librarian, my job is to prepare children for tomorrow, and I want all of their tomorrows to be full of books.
Michelle Hilburn is the president of the Cassville Area Friends of the Library and a librarian at Purdy schools. She may be reached at mhilburn@purdyk12.com.
