Jj is for Jottings 64.  Raising a Reader Part 4: Early Readers.

Continuing from

https://educatingalpacas.com/raising-a-reader-part-1-the-baby/

https://educatingalpacas.com/raising-a-reader-part-2-toddlers/ and

https://educatingalpacas.com/raising-a-reader-part-3-emerging-readers/, your child has now begun to read independently, and now your role expands.  Keep reading with your child, but also offer a regular supply of appealing books and have positive conversations about books and reading.  The aim is always to create lots of positive energy around books and reading.  Where to access this regular supply of books?  My dad took us to the local library every Saturday morning, where we all borrowed books.  We all looked forward to this trip, in anticipation of what literary delights might be awaiting us on the shelves.  Then there’s the school library, books for birthday and Christmas presents, and parents could initiate their children swapping books with their friends, if the children haven’t already done so.

Ask your children’s visiting friends what they are reading and have a conversation about it.  Peer influence being what it is, this may spark your child off – wanting to read what his friends are reading.

Associate reading with maturity.  Perhaps you make your child’s bedtime half an hour later if that time is spent reading in bed.

Remember that the format doesn’t matter, as long as your child is reading.  More on this next time, when I’ll finish the series with some tips for reluctant readers.