Training your children to read and enjoy reading is an important part of life. After all, God Himself thought it was important for us to read – He established His Word, the Bible, for us to read in order to gain wisdom and insight for our lives.
How can we train our children to enjoy books? We start from the time they are very young. When they are just babies we look through picture books with them and as they grow older the repertoire expands according to their level. Reading books aloud to your children engages their imagination and attention in a way movies can not. Children are forced to imagine what the situation looks like and live it in their minds. Sure, they may have some pictures to help them, but their minds have to fill in the gaps. As your children listen to you read, they are also able to build their vocabulary and learn about conversation and intonation.
When children read on their own, they learn many skills. In my homeschooling, I did not focus on spelling as a school subject until my oldest was in third grade. Before that, he was learning to spell wonderfully… how? In his reading. I wanted him to be a good reader first – before worrying about him being a good speller. By seeing words repeatedly in books, it helped reinforce his visualization of a word.
Reading also teaches children to investigate and be interested in stories and facts. It teaches them to think for themselves and pursue education. It helps them be independent learners. Books are great resources for learning all sorts of things!
Maybe your children aren’t so young any more and you would like for them to have a better appetite for books. Why not start reading to them and see if it sparks an interest? Pick a good read-aloud book and schedule some time as a family to read it. Even if you can’t do it every day, do it when you can. We oftentimes read to our children before bed or at least have them look at books on their own. We have had children come to our home who are not normally book-lovers who will engage in a book while they are here. Why? We say, “Okay, it’s book time.” Everyone is required to get out some sort of book. The children follow suit, and it is amazing to see how these children will delve into books too.
Make it a goal to plunge into a book soon, whether it be for your own benefit or for the good of someone else.
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