Teach Me To Read!

Is it really easy to teach a child to love books? In the end, some will go their own way!

We are a family of readers. I read all of the tips that are published over and over again about how to give your child a life-long love of reading and all things books....and believe me, I tried.

My husband and I both read to the children on a nightly basis. They saw us reading everything from the back of cereal packages to medical books - so why then did several of my children not read?

When we hit the middle grades, my sons in particular were unable to find reading material that interested them. They are sports nuts and we found one author - Matt Christopher - who wrote precious few sports-centered, fiction books. The boys read those voraciously until, alas, there were no more!

After that, I tried everything - including comic books to keep their interest in reading alive. We fanned the reading flame until high school when their interests - especially in history - caught the flame that burns brightly until this day.

The girls were a different story all together. They read everything they could get their hands on and have never stopped. What is the difference? If we simplify things, the answer would be that during their middle school and high school years, the girls are not as involved in sports, etc. that keep them physically active, so they read - but I know that isn't the case. All of my girls played softball, soccer or were active in drill team and other activities.

The bottom line is: The amount of quality reading materials that are available for boys relative to their life during the middle school years is scarce.

Don't despair! Following a few simple steps - and following them steadily - will get your "non-readers" over the transitional hump and into the library!

~READ to your children! When I was breastfeeding one, I had the other children sit at my feet and I read to them. We also read to them at night. Find a time when it fits into your family's schedule and then just do it!

~Have your children read to you! Once my children started school and were learning to read, I was sorely pressed for time, but asked the children to read to me as I cooked and did dishes in the evening.

~Spell to Read! This was one of my favorite things to do - even before the children started school, I bought a set of magnetic letters and numbers to put on the refridgerator and would prompt them to spell simple words on their own. For example, I would put up "at." the children could then choose letters such as "b" and "c" to make new words. They loved it!

~Stay Interested! As your child gets into the fourth, fifth, sixth grades, ask about what he is reading! I make it a habit to read some of the books each year that the children are reading in school...some of them are wonderful!

What worked for your family while you were teaching reading?