Today I witnessed first-hand how important it is at times to spice up children’s ordinary reading routines. Seven men took part in Real Men Read, and spent an hour reading to our second and fifth grade students. As I stood in the breezeway talking with Anna Eastman, HISD Board Member, we had to pause our conversation to comment on the excitement that we heard coming from Ms. Reyna’s bilingual 1st/2nd grade class. One of our participants was reading a non-fiction text, and the students were simply intrigued by his theatrical performance. It was great to see the students so engaged; they didn’t even realize that they were learning tons of facts about reptiles.
Reading with your child every day at home is one of the most important things you can do to help his/her education. But there’s no sense in always doing the same old thing. To build your child’s excitement about reading:
• Find new reading spots. Pick fun, unusual places to read, such as a fort your child builds with pillows in the living room.
• Read as a team. Have your child follow words with his/her pointer finger while you read. Or let him/her “echo” sentences after you say them.
• Plan a performance. Choose a favorite passage from a book and help your child master it. Gather an audience to admire his skills!
• Allow interruptions. When taking turns reading aloud, encourage your child to take over reading anytime you reach the end of a sentence.
• Celebrate reading success. When you reach a goal (such as 100 reading minutes in a week), do something special!
Most importantly, help your child to recognize that reading is a fun experience!
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