I have a form of mild dyslexia (sorry for any spelling mistakes in this post!). But over the years I improved and learnt ways to manage and catch myself when I make mistakes, but it was never easy and sadly for a very long time reading was a frustrating and difficult task.
I was fortunate that my school had an excellent special needs department, with teachers that would encourage me to read and practise, so today I can look back and remember fondly reading the last Harry Potter book in a week (big whoop whoop moment for me!).
So I don't think you need a special day to encourage kids to read more, but at the same time it is a good reminder of how great books are! So here are some tips on how to get your kids reading more, and enjoying it!
5 Tips on getting your kids reading, and enjoying it!
1. Read with your kids! Who wants to sit alone and read a book? Well maybe Mum wouldn't mind that, but it makes reading not so fun for kids, so turn it into a group activity. You can begin by reading a bed time story, which is a great way to bond with your child and calm them down ready for sleep. Then as they get older you can read together (you read one page, they read the next) until eventually they read you the bedtime story!
2. Make it interesting to your child! Every child has different interest, and if your child is reading something they are interested in they will enjoy it a whole lot more. From fantasy, adventure and science fiction. And don't limit interest to just books, think of other reading materials like magazines too.
3. As I said in tip 2, don't limit it just to books. If you have one, think about getting some children's books on your kindle, nook, iPad or other tablet, then your kids have a whole library of books to read in the palm of their hand, and your not just limited to what they bring home from school or the library.
4. Join a reading challenge. Every summer my local library had a reading programme for kids and it was a great motivator to read new types of books, and kept me reading when I was out of school without my teachers.
5. Don't just keep reading to set times. Ask your child to help read the food labels while out shopping, or read emails send from friends and family members. If you are baking with them have them read the recipe, or let them read the cook book and pick a recipe. And also make sure that, if they see something they don't understand, they can ask you to help read it with them.
So Happy World Book Day!! Grab a book and get reading :)
