[nancynic]

Children begin to learn to read at home before they enter school. After they enter school it's important to nurture a love of reading. Here are some tips:

Spend 20-30 minutes daily reading with children
Let your child see you read - be a role model for reading
Listen to your child read
Set aside time for independent reading (so much better than watching TV)
Remember that reading is more than just sounding out words, it is the process of constructing meaning through the dynamic interaction between the reader, the book and the reading/learning situation. So when you read with your children, ask questions and stimulate interaction.

What have you found helpful when reading with children?
What are your children's favorite books?

NancyNic

[dkb60]

DH read Treasure Island to DD's when oldest was 5. They loved it. Find a series of books and read them together. There are so many out there. Some are on tape or cd, which are great for car trips.

D

[nancynic]

Hi D,

What a great idea! I remember reading the Nancy Drew series as a child ... I loved them! I can still imagine how they looked, all lined up in my book case! Roald Dahl has written some wonderful books too ... although not a series.

Thank you!

I'd love to hear of everyone's favorite books from childhood and what you are reading to your children now. Summertime is a great time for reading~

NancyNic

[Sabra]

Great Question!

When my girls were in second and third grade they read The Boxcar Children series and some of the Dear America series.

Boxcar Children had really great mysteries and Dear America had interesting facts and historical information. They were not borings at all!

What books have others noticed their children reading at any age???

[Quesita]

One beautiful memory of my own childhood is reading with my family when I was 6 and 7. I know those were the ages because I see myself in the house that we only lived in for two years. My parents and I would sit around the fireplace after dinner and read entire books aloud, passing the book back and forth, each reading a paragraph or two.

We read the Winnie the Pooh books, Charlotte's Web, Alice in Wonderland...there must have been others too. We would stop and talk about the things happening in the books. I remember laughing and laughing at Alice, crying when Charlotte died....

Please please please may I have the patience to do what my parents did for me, and not just turn on the tube every night after dinner.

[mrsred]

Dr Seuss really knew what he was doing with all those rhyming books. Reading books that rhyme to very young children is the greatest gift you can give. It helps with phenom developement.
I started reading Seuss and other rhyming books to our son when he was a tiny baby. We would lay on the floor together and I would hold the book up above us. And he would actually listen and respond!
By age 3 we had to tell him we could only read three bedtime stories a night! The summer before he started kindergarten I read the entire 8 book set of Chronicles of Narnia to him! By 2nd grade he was reading the Harry Potter books. Now he is in the fifth grade and reads and comprehends at high school level.
Starting early and reading often is a huge help. And just in case you are adopting an older child, don't dispair it is not too late. Our adopted son was 5 when we got him The first time we tried to read to him he couldn't maintain interest at all. We began with all the rhyming books. We have read to him pretty much every night for the last 2 years. Now he is in first grade and right on track learning to read.

[ritachen]

Hi
My daughter loves reading. She is a self-motivator. As a 1st grader, she is definitely not satisfied with what she learned from school. It's a good thing for kids, however a tough thing for me, a working mom. Buying activity books here and there, trying to keep up and check her progress...I was looking for other solutions. Then I was recmmended BeeStar,it is a web based exercises, providing answers and keep tracking the score, even email parents the exercise results each week. That's just what she needs! She starts BeeStar and as I expected, she loves it. Her reading comprehension has improved dramatically too, a star reader in her class. She is always excited to check honor rolls and the trophies, and study harder to earn more...
from Rita

[nancykitty]

Originally Posted by ritachen

Hi
My daughter loves reading. She is a self-motivator. As a 1st grader, she is definitely not satisfied with what she learned from school. It's a good thing for kids, however a tough thing for me, a working mom. Buying activity books here and there, trying to keep up and check her progress...I was looking for other solutions. Then I was recmmended BeeStar,it is a web based exercises, providing answers and keep tracking the score, even email parents the exercise results each week. That's just what she needs! She starts BeeStar and as I expected, she loves it. Her reading comprehension has improved dramatically too, a star reader in her class. She is always excited to check honor rolls and the trophies, and study harder to earn more...
from Rita

Beestar is really a useful website. My daughter is a little poor in math, and I was also recommended Beestar. It's not only full of reading exercise, but free math practice. Emma does it each week, and is often excited to see herself in the honor rolls. We are really happy to see her progress in math. Hope every parent knows Beestar, and let kids use it.

Nancy