‘How can I encourage my child to read more at home?’ is an extremely popular question our team at Relocate Educate are regularly asked by parents and guardians of our students.

It is evident that reading is an essential part of a child’s education and well-being. Reading provides children with many benefits academically such as Writing, Spelling and Oracy, but it also improves children’s concentration and helps to develop their imagination and empathy.
Below, we have listed 5 of our favourite ideas to help your child foster a love of reading at home:
1. Be a reading role model:
We live in a digital world where most information we need can be easily and instantly accessed from our smart phones. However, it is important for children to observe adults using reading materials such as, recipe books, newspapers, magazines, maps and novels. If they see that you have a love of reading, they most likely develop a love of reading too!

2. Create a special reading place:
In many schools and classrooms, reading areas and reading corners are a popular place for children to read. Having a special reading place or area in your home can encourage your child to relax and settle down to read a great book! This could simply be a special reading box, reading shelf, a reading tent or a cosy corner in your home.


3. Accessibility to a variety of texts & genres:
Another way to motivate your child to read more at home is ensure your child has access to a range of texts to enjoy. If your child seems a little demotivated when just reading story books, you could suggest other reading texts, such as:
· Comics
· Children’s newspapers/ magazines
· Audio books
· Poems
· Non-fiction books (linked to their favourite interests or topics they are learning at school).

You could also visit your local library with your child as this will allow your child to explore and choose different texts- with no extra cost!

4. Get talking about reading:
If your child prefers reading by themselves, you could read the same book separately and make time to share your thoughts and opinions about the characters, plot and predicting what might happen next. This will enhance your child’s comprehension and inference skills. Asking open ended questions such as 'What do you think may happen next?' or 'How do you think that character felt?' will encourage regular discussions about reading within your home.

5. Encourage fun tasks that involve reading:
It is extremely important that reading does not appear as a ‘chore’ that needs to be completed, but rather a relaxing and enjoyable activity.
At home you can support reading by initiating fun tasks that involve reading such as:
Reading recipes whilst baking and cooking together
Reading instructions when building a new toy
Reading directions- e.g. following directions in the garden or the park for a treasure hunt.


We would love to hear from you if you have any other ideas to encourage children to read at home.
Please feel free to contact us to share your ideas:
Email: info@relocateeducate.com
Instagram: @relocateeducate
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