If you have children that are old enough to read on their own, then you can use this to actively promote their skills through family involvement, while making fun game-like activities out of reading time.
You would be amazed at the average reading level of most children ages 6-10. A large portion of children under the age of ten cannot read at their grade level. It is being noted that they are not getting enough practice in general. By adapting some simple games into your family life you can easily help your child get the practice he/she needs while helping them to excel above their grade level with minimal effort.
A wonderful way to incorporate reading into the family routine is to inquire with your child’s reading teacher about the list of books required by the school for that class. Using this information set up a family book club. This is a neat way to plan the family reading around the studies of your child, but also allowing the child to pick books that interest them outside of school curriculum.
You can use this book club idea to create a reading-chart that effectively gives rewards for a certain number of pages or books that are read within a period of time, including books read as a part of school work. Spend a day with your child creating the chart; ask their opinion in what types of smaller prizes they would enjoy (pizza night, movie rental, stationary, favorite doll, etc..) as a simple reward system.
Use glue, sequence, stickers, and markers and have them help you in designing the family reading chart. This will be used to mark who has read, how much, and it will be used as your basis for tracking your child’s reading ‘record’.
You can even give your child’s teacher progress-reports from this home reading club, to let them know the progression and the influence that it is having on their school-work and vice-versa. Each month give your child one of the acceptable prizes and gather a family meeting after dinner to discuss the progress with everyone.
This is an amazing way to show your child how proud you are, and also bring the whole family closer together by creating a common bond, and an award system that shows your child how hard work, and diligence, pays off with time.
