From Reluctant Reader to Voracious Reader - Page 2
Because she is my oldest, I was fearful of screwing up. She's my trial-and-error kid. It didn't help that she had a very bad first grade year (which spawned my blog PragmaticMom due to all the catch up we needed to do). I sought assistance on how to get her to love reading from everyone I knew: librarians (who suggested the popular but repetitive Rainbow Fairy series), ex-teacher mom friends (I started a book club for her based on one mom's recommendation, and indexed my picture books according to level of difficulty thanks to another), teachers (Explode the Code workbooks were dutifully done during the summer), and went to lectures on literacy (put a basket of books in the bathroom and rotate them!).
I found that I wasn't the best choice to read with my child. We fought over reading and it was torture. My husband ended up taking over for a summer. He was much better at coaxing her to read aloud. (Thanks honey!).
Bit by bit though, through trial and error, we, as a collective family unit, made progress in the reading department. I learned to relax to make reading enjoyable. This made my daughter want to read more. The more she read, the more comfortable she got. I give a lot of credit to the You Read to Me and I'll Read to You series which I found in the overstock section of a local bookstore.
During the course of first grade through fourth grade, I tried lots of things (see below), and then one day ... around the middle of third grade but definitely by the end of fourth grade, a magical thing happened: She was a reader! The voracious kind that sneaks a flashlight under the covers to read way past her bedtime.
I think that trying lots of different strategies is the key to unlocking a love for reading in any child. I know that I presented a lot of ideas, but remember that we did these over the course of five years. The effort I made was well worth it; teaching your child to read is a gift that keeps on giving!
What has worked for you to get your child to love to read? Please leave a comment with your suggestions and book recommendations!
1) Trips to bookstores to buy books (maybe 4-5 times a year). We also have a color Nook and she enjoyed the novelty of ebooks for a few months but that didn't last. Used book stores, garage sales, and library used book sales are also great places to acquire books.
2) Book recommendations from her friends. This works on two levels. Her friends' recommendations carry more clout than mine, and you can borrow the books.
Continued on the next page
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