Texas Monkey

Boy I'm so glad it's Friday, it's been a heck of a week and it was a short week because of the holiday but it was a LONG and STRESSFUL week. Needless to say I have plenty of material for next week's Dear So and So.
Today's For You Friday is tips for raising readers.

Now if you're new here or stopping in from one of the awesome Friday Follow Blog Hops like New Friend Friday or Friday Follow or Blog Frog Hop or Social Parade then let me tell you Friday's here are fun. It's all about you and what's more fun that you? Well maybe some giveaways, tips, things I think you will enjoy, advice, and more. I'd love to have you as a new follower but only if you are interested in crafts, DIY projects, humor, honesty, tutorials, and fun.
The only thing I request is to let me know why you've decided to follow me, that lets me know you read my posts, looked around and made a decision, not just clicked follow to add numbers, it also encourages me to come visit your blog, follow back and come back often.

I am wanting to develop friendships and more interested in relationships with my readers and not just numbers. Deal?! Good now on to For You Friday. This post comes straight from my article that I publish with Macaroni Kid. It's filled to the brim with awesome stuff so if you like this post, check out the rest of the articles and because I have no shame, I'd love to beg you to sign up for my weekly newsletter. It's for moms and dads filled with activities and ideas to do together to build family bonding. PLLLEEEASSE! Just click HERE to read more articles and click HERE to sign up. Oh did I mention it's free? :)

In my newsletter you will notice I included a summer reading program article to help you and your kids earn free items and encourage the use of the brain throughout the summer months. So to add to that I thought some good tips on getting a child to read would be fitting and beneficial so that the excitement of reading throughout the summer will last for years to come.

From the time I was a child I've been told or heard that reading is so important and honestly I never second guess my mom on this. Now other stuff I did second guess but we'll leave that for a different article, called, teenagers be nice to your parents. :) Back to reading, I too tell my toddler this and I've never stopped to consider WHY is it so important. I'm not questioning it's importance, just curious as to the many benefits it has. Here are 5 reasons reading is so vital.

Books help children develop vital language skills.
Reading can open up new worlds and enrich children's lives.
Reading can enhance children's social skills.
Reading can improve hand-eye coordination.
Reading can provide children with plenty of good, clean fun!

So we all probably agree that reading is important, reading is vital, reading is even fun, but how can we motivate our children to want to do it? How can we raise readers?
I have many many parent friends and to me, you as a mom or dad are the best resource for finding out what works best. So that's just what I did, I polled parents and asked them what they did to help raise a reader.

Visit your local library often. Get your children their own library cards. Try a story hour or other free event at the library.
Check out the local bookstore. A book or gift certificate always makes a terrific gift.
At the library, let your child choose some of the books.
Let your child see you reading, whether it's the newspaper, a magazine, or the latest bestseller.
Encourage older children to read to their younger brothers and sisters. Or have the whole family set aside some time to read together!
Show your child how people use reading all the time. Read aloud street and store signs, maps, billboards, menus, and labels on packages.
Create a library for your child of new or used books. Try looking for affordable books at yard sales, second hand book stores, and library book sales.
Set up an area in your home where a variety of reading materials are within easy reach. Encourage writing by including paper, crayons, pens and pencils.
Subscribe to a children's magazine. Read it with your child every month.
Carry books to read to your child wherever you go - at the doctor's office, in line at the store, or on a long car ride. (You can also listen to stories on tape.)
Encourage a love of words by playing rhyming and word games, singing silly songs, or writing poems and stories together.
Talk about daily activities or tell stories about your family or culture to help children develop their language skills.
As a baby start a nightly routine of bath, reading a book, then bed.

One of the ways listed above is to set up an area in your home where reading materials are within easy reach. This is one of the first things we did in our home when our baby was no more a baby. We built bookshelves ourselves since I wasn't interested in paying around $40 a shelf. Instead I paid $20 for materials and had a wonderful building session with my husband. You can read all about it HERE.
Since then our child goes to it many times a day to pick out a book and sit and read. These tips really do work and I know together we can raise tremendous readers!