"What if your kids don't like to read?" (by Mrs. Jenni)

Reading has been a wonderful part of my life for a long time.  As a teacher, I also know how vital reading is when it comes to learning.  I have always tried to instill a love of reading in each of my students.  One of my favorite challenges is to play matchmaker with students and books.  When a student knows a book recommendation is specifically for them from someone who cares about them it goes a long way towards helping them read the book.  How exciting when they realize how awesome reading can be!

This challenge became very personal for me several years ago when I married a man with two beautiful daughters, aged 8 and 11 at the time. Neither of the girls read much.  My oldest described herself as a "big couch potato who watched lots of TV."  Reading was a struggle and certainly not something that they did at home for fun. I was hopeful that this could change.

 That was almost three years ago and I've seen big changes since then.  My oldest daughter now loves reading. She reads on her own constantly.  We read books together as a family and we are constantly talking about what we're reading.  We make recommendations to each other about good books.  Getting to this place took work, love, and patience. 

My younger daughter hasn't fallen in love with reading yet, but we haven't given up.  Even though she doesn't enjoy reading on her own she loves the family books that we read together.

Here are some ideas that made a difference for our family; hopefully they can help you too.

• We read books together as a family
• We got a big bookshelf full of books
• We gave books as gifts
• We made trips to the bookstore as a reward
• We talked about books at the dinner table and in the car
• We made a few rules to establish some balance -- equal screen time and book time
• We didn't give up!!

Overall, we find ways to make reading at home fun, meaningful, and relaxing.

(Soon I'll post a few book lists for the reluctant reader and some tips for helping your child to find books that are best for them.)