Reading to Children

Reading to children is the most important thing parents can do to ensure success in school. According to “Reading Tips for Parents” from the U.S. Department of Education, there are many things you can do to start children reading.

Get Ready To Read

• Point out printed words you see anyplace you go.
• Bring along children's books and writing materials whenever you leave home.
• Create quiet, special times and spaces for reading to children.
• Show children the importance of reading by reading books, newspapers, and magazines.
• Turn off the TV and cuddle with your child and a good book.
• Take your child to the library to pick out favorite books.

Create Strong Readers

• Take time to read every day.
• With large-print books, point to the words as you read.
• Read a favorite book over and over again.
• Read books with rhyming words and lines that repeat.
• Discuss new words.
• Stop and ask about the pictures and what's happening in the story.
• Read a variety of children's books—fairy tales, song books, poems, and non-fiction.
• Use the Building Blocks Easy Readers to help your children learn to read:
• Play Day in the Park (PDF) for 3- to 4-year-olds
• Look What I Can Do! (PDF) for 5- to 6-year-olds

Family Activities: Reading Games, Library Activities

Quizzes for Parents: Teaching Children to Read Quiz, Library Quiz

Related Articles for Educators: Reading With Building Blocks, The Classroom Library

Related Family Article: Learning to Love Reading

Resources:

• Reading Tips for Parents from the U.S. Department of Education provides excellent information and tools for reading to children.
• Reading to Babies, Toddlers, and Young Children from the Child Literacy Centre^TM provides parenting tips and information on why, what, and how to read to children.
• Caldecott Winners and Notable Children's Books Library Association can make choosing children's books easy and fun.