All About Grooming & Encouraging Good Reading Habits

[jeanieg]

Hi I have 2 girls aged 6 and 7. When they were very young I will read to them before bed. Now both of them are able to read simple books on their own, though DD1 is better in it. I rarely read to them before bed now as I am too tired (now that I do not have a maid). I always tell them that I can read to them in the daytime but they would rather play.


My ‘problem’ is that they do not like to read on their own. We go to the library pretty often and they will select the books they want but in the end I will be the one reading to them. Throughout the day, they will play together but have never once, taken a book on their own and read it! I have bought books with subject matters that they like, eg. Princess stories, Barbie stories, etc but to no avail. DD1 likes Winx Club and wanted the comic version and so I bought them. She do read them but ever so slowly. She takes ages to finish one book (she only reads them during School’s reading time before assembly, not at home).

I know reading will help them in the English subject but I do not know how to ignite their interest in reading. Help!

[verykiasumummy]

i tried this way before…


u will look for books with beautiful pctures… show it to them, every page, go thru every detail of the pictures but dun mention about the story yet… next, get them to tell u what they think the story is, and make them think…

when u read to them, ask them to look at the words using their fingers to go thru as u read… since u hv 2 dd, u can ask them to compete, and see whose story is the closest to the actual one and give rewards accordingly?

[Pen88n]

Your kids are at a right age to start independent reading, but they are probably more enticed by play than reading. As such, set aside reading time for them. Before reading time, use the same book and start reading to them the initial part. Then let each one continue reading their books during the reading time. You can play games by having them tell stories of what they have read, so that it will motivate them to want to read to "show off" that they know the story.

[smartmummy]

try funny books.it make them to more interest. i didn’t read a lot to my dd.now she can read everyday before sleep.i just to remind her.

i prefer the following books
dr.seuss’s books
berenstain bears - i can read
she started one line in a page.then slowly i increase the level.cannot jump.i patiently waiting for her to pick up more higher level books.now i make sure she read every day.
my dd is 6 yrs old.

[winston.022044tay]

There's a mass reading event for parents (particularly dads) and kids at the National Library this Sunday:


http://kidlander.sg/events/watch/discover-the-joy-of-reading/

It's not an instructional event, but I feel having the child witness parents engaging in an active reading environment might instill some ideas for them to pick up the habit too

[jeanieg]

Thank you everyone for all your valuable input. My main concern about setting a fixed time for reading is that I do not want them to do it reluctantly and therefore in the end it becomes a ‘forced’/pressured effort.


I know of kids who just LOVE reading and I wonder if it is an innate quality? Some kids just have it and some don’t? Back when I was young, I do not read that much either. I will not say that I ‘LOVE’ books too. Maybe because of that, I also do not pass on any love of reading to my kids! My neighbour loves to read when she was younger and still do and so her kids are the same.

I was packing the kids’ books and even though I took most of it away, they do not even complain! The books just lie there on the shelf without being touched for ages! I guess deep down I am kinda disappointed that they do not like to read. Maybe it’s my own expectation that I need to adjust

[fable]

I used to read to my son every night (and often in the day as well). I love to read as well, and he often sees me with a book in hand. When he was just starting to read, he started with books that I had already read to him, and we would take turns reading to each other. Interactive books might be fun as well - books where you can open flaps and select options. We have a mixed-up fairy tale book that he still enjoys, even tho’ he can now easily manage Percy Jackson type books. In this book, several fairy tales are told in 6 (?) parts, and you can mix them around to make your own crazy fairy tale. We’ll take turns trying to find the weirdest combinations.


I stopped reading to him for a while (got lazy) but he kept asking and I realized that the time would soon come when he would not want me to anymore so I should cherish the moment. Our practice right now is that I’ll read a long book to him in sections. To keep it fresh and suspenseful, we’ll choose a book he has not read before and he’s not allowed to read this book on his own. Some days, I’ll just read 2 pages, on others we’ll go 40 - 50 pages. Like a tv serial, I’ll make sure to stop at a suspenseful moment to keep the momentum going. We just finished ‘A Tale Dark and Grimm’, which is a darker reworking of s bunch of Grimm Fairy Tales.

The key is to make it fun and to take pleasure in it yourself. I do voices, change names (he loves it when he becomes the protaganist), choose stories he’ll be interested in, get super dramatic. Perhaps this is a chance for you to fall in love with books yourself!

[jeanieg]

Thanks fable for your encouragement!


The only books I read nowadays are mainly on the topic of KIDS! Guess I should try to read to them again and not be lazy…hehe

[ScienceGeekMama]

If anyone is interested, I have the Usborne Phonics Book Set (12 books) for SGD59 and the Usborne Very First Reading slipcased set (15 books)http://www.usborne.com/catalogue/catalogue.aspx?id=4618 for SGD89. Brand new. The Very First Reading gradually increases in difficulty level with each book, so it allows for more confident reading for the child. Can send you sample pages by email if you wish. Email me at [email protected] if interested lar.

[rains]

I think while it can be innate, the love for reading can definitely be nurtured.


You can try getting your kids to read together with you. My kid didn’t use to like reading on her own. I got her to read one sentence while I read the next, until we finished the stories. I think that doesn’t make her feel that she’s doing all the ‘work’ and the ‘load’ is lighter. Eventually, she wanted to read on her own.

Do you take them to the library every Saturday or Sunday? It’s nice to sit around and read for a couple of hours with the other kids. Even if they end up playing, they are still immersed in a reading environment. After reading books they fancy at the library, they can choose their own books to loan them home. It’s a trip my kid looked forward to when she was young, and even now too, just that she goes to the library herself these days.

Another factor that made my kid read was because her younger cousin could recognise words that she couldn’t. There was some element of competition involved I guess. She always had this slightly stunned look on her when her younger cousin read out words or sentences that she couldn’t. And I caught her trying to imitate her cousin reading 三字经 (when she couldn’t read a word in there!) after he went home.

I still remember how freaked out I was when she kept forgetting the words she just read one line above when she was in K1, but when the love for reading took off, she was reading Charlotte’s web at the end of K2 and Harry Potter at P2. In fact, we got so upset with her reading we banned her from reading at various points. So hang in there, as long as you keep at it and explore ways to make them love reading, it will soon pay off.