Reading is an important life skill and it is also incredibly rewarding. Reading not only supports your child’s learning, but it can also be used as a form of entertainment and relaxation.
To learn more about the benefits of reading and how you can support your child’s reading at home, here is some great advice from an independent school in Surrey…
By encouraging your child to read regularly, you will help to expand their knowledge and spark their imagination. This will not only help them academically, but it will also help them socially, as it will give them lots of interesting things to talk about with friends and family.
Where possible, try to include reading into your everyday activities. For example, you could ask your child to read your shopping list and then help you to find these items at the supermarket by reading the overhead signs.
Reading increases your vocabulary. It doesn’t matter if your child is reading books; websites or magazines, all forms of reading are beneficial. When your child comes across a word that they do not understand, ask them to look up the meaning in a dictionary. This will help to enhance their vocabulary and it will also benefit their writing skills.
Regular reading will also give your child a better understanding of good sentence structure and the rhythm of words. This will help when it comes to creative writing exercises at school.
If your child enjoys reading a particular book, you could set them a challenge to create their own ending to the story. Think of what parts of the storyline you could change in order to achieve a different outcome.
If your child struggles with stress or has trouble sleeping, encourage them to start reading. By focusing on a good story, your child will be able to forget about their worries and begin to relax. Teach your child that they can always use their imagination to take them away to somewhere new.
The internet is a great tool for supporting your child’s reading. Smart phones and tablets are also ideal for downloading free reading apps. These apps provide safe spaces for reading without parents worrying about unsafe content online. Parents can choose what their child can access within an app; use timer features and monitor their child’s reading progress.
Thanks for reading xxx
Some great tips there thanks!!