Top tips for reading at home with your child
1. Read aloud to your child. Even children as old as twelve enjoy the experience of a parent or loved one reading aloud to them. You may have read to your children when they were very little: get back into the habit and it’s something you will both enjoy. It’s a great opportunity for you and your child to talk, to be close and share a few laughs.
2. Encourage your child to read aloud to you. Be positive and patient about your child’s reading - even when they are being very slow or are struggling. The most important thing you can do to support your child’s reading is to offer encouragement and patience.
3. Make sure your child has a cozy, comfortable place in which to read: somewhere with no noisy distractions – and no television.
4. Help your child to choose books that he or she will find really interesting. If your child loves Star Trek, choose a science fiction novel. If he or she is a football fanatic, find a book, poem, comic or magazine which is all about their favorite sport. Do you know the name of your child’s favorite author? It’s time to find out.
5. Make sure there are plenty of books at home. Borrow them free of charge from the school library or from your local public library; buy second-hand books from charity shops and car boot sales; give your child a book on birthdays.
6. Ask questions about what your child is reading. Make sure they understand what is happening in the story and can retell it back to you.