Reading.  Love it or hate it, you can’t avoid it.  Grace Lutheran has built a culture of reading with story time, library visits, silent reading, family reading challenges, and our Literacy Night.  Experts agree that reading consistently for a sustained period each day is an indicator of future success.

We know the importance of reading, and we encourage families to make reading a part of daily routine.  Would we love 20 minutes a day? Yes!  But we’ll settle for 15 minutes.  Renaissance Education reports that students who spend 15 minutes reading each day have “accelerated gains in reading achievement.”  Students who spend 20 minutes reading have even greater gains and will “likely score better than 50% of their peers” on standardized tests.

It’s easy to see that time spent reading has positive benefits.  If you are the parent of a child who loves to read, celebrate!  If you are the parent of a child who doesn’t like reading, don’t despair!  We’re here to help with 5 great ways to help your child learn to love reading.

1. Read to your child- even if they are reading on their own.  It’s a great way to spend time together, and it shows your child that you love reading.  Attitudes are contagious.  If you show an attitude of excitement for reading time, it just might rub off on your child.  Don’t know what to read?  Check out readingrockets.org for recommendations for all ages and levels.
2. Listen to an audio book.  Yes, listening to books counts as reading.  Stories capture the imagination, and children learn the power of fluent reading when they hear a story out loud.
3. Magazines count too.  If the idea of picking up a long book is too much for your reader, dazzle them with a magazine.  Pictures, short articles, and fun content turns the daunting task of reading into a fun adventure.
4. Speaking of adventures- go on an adventure to your library.  Your librarians are a great resource for matching interests to titles, and you can often find free activities for young readers at your local branch.
5. Watch a movie- but only after you read the book first.  The reward of getting to watch a movie may be the motivation your reader needs to tackle a book, even a long book.

The love of reading is one of the best gifts you can give.  So on this Valentine’s Day, spread a little love and read.