10 Tips to Raising a Reader

I have my parents to thank for raising me a reader. I have picked up some essential tips along the way in my 10 year teaching career. I taught 3rd-5th for five years and 5th-8th for another five. Before that I ran an in-home daycare so I have experience with kids of all ages. 

I learned from the best school psychologists I worked with that one of the only ways you can raise your IQ is by reading. How cool is that?! This post contains affiliate links, I may make a small commission at no cost to you. Here are my tips for raising a reader:

1. Have books everywhere

Bedrooms, living room, play room, bathroom, cars... We have books in just about every room of the house. Having books visible and readily available helps normalize books and spark curiosity. I try to rotate books and have new ones out so they don't become part of the background.

I rotate our books out of the car and diaper bag every few weeks. This way we always have books ready for when my kids are waiting somewhere. We do not bring tablets (my kid's don't have their own anyways) or their Nintendo Switches with us anywhere and it's worked really well for us so far!

I'm always inspired by one of our favorite books, The Children Who Loved Books, the story of a family that doesn't have much and how books bring them together, it's a really heart-warming read! 

2. Be a reader yourself

My mom loves books and I saw her reading often growing up. My dad always had motorcycle magazines or books on planes around. This one's tough for me because I'm often reading on my iPad or phone. I really make a point to tell my kids I'm reading my book. I tell them about what I'm reading or how I'm so into this book I really want to read for a bit in the living room while they're playing. 

Normalizing having a hobby and your own interests for your kids, especially if it's reading!

3. Read to your child

I know this one is obvious but it's important. Reading from an early age helps set the stage for language and literacy. You are expanding their vocabulary and introducing them to new sounds, rhythms and topics. Even babies can begin to follow the patterns of a story, creating the building blocks for comprehension. 

4. Read Together

I have the best memories of reading The Little House on the Prairie with my mom and sister every night before bed. Reading together when your child is old enough helps them access text that is above their level which helps them become a better reader and can spark interest in new genres. This builds their vocabulary and fluency as you are right there to model and help guide as they are reading. It's also a great bonding time, reading together offers a great way to snuggle up and really focus on each other. 

5. Visit the library

We are lucky to have a fun, child-centered library. There's a whole space with books and imaginative play items including a big boat, garden area and small town. Even if your library isn't as exciting as ours you can make it a fun outing from the time they are little by hyping it up, picking out books together and reading while you are there. Many libraries have fun activities like reading to therapy dogs or book-themed coloring and crafts. 

This can also include little free libraries. Every time I say we are going to the library my kids will say the little one or the big one?! We are lucky to have several within walking distance. 

6. Play word games

I'm excited to make an entire board game post but had to include this one here too. Making words fun is a huge factor in kids learning to love reading, vocabulary and writing. Just like anything, if you can make something into a game your child is more likely to enjoy it and learn along the way. 

I played a lot of games with my middle school striving readers and many looked forward to that part of our time together the most. Bananagrams is a favorite of my family and I can't wait until my oldest can play, pretty soon here! For now we do simple word searches, crossword puzzles, make rhyming words together and play sight word bingo.

A fan favorite for all ages is Madlibs. If you've never heard of Madlibs you are missing out! It's a story with words missing that you fill in by parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives). After you fill in all the blanks you read the story aloud and the results are hilarious. I have to explain each part of speech to my 7 year old before we start each time and I'm hoping this pays off with him knowing these well as he gets older. This was one of the hardest units for my 6th grade Language class (I teach Language, Reading AND run the library- I wear many hats at work!). Madlibs are really affordable and each one comes with a varying amount of pages centered on the same or general topic and you can do each one twice or if you use a pencil, unlimited times. 

We love the Pokemon one at our house and I grew up doing Madlibs on road trips with my family. More options: Supersize: Over 100 Stories, History of the World (learn some history and have fun!), Mad about Animals (science!), and Summer Fun: Madlib Junior (perfect for 5-8 year olds).

7. Buy books as gifts

My oldest recently rediscovered a big space book I gifted him for Christmas when he was about 3. It wasn't age appropriate at the time but he loved the pictures and I would point out that it was a nebula or a supernova. We would read a few pages here and there over the years. This time he climbed up in my lap with a little front tooth missing grin and asked if we could read. He is now old enough to absorb more of the information and even read some of it with support. Someday he will hopefully read it on his own. 

We include books as gifts for most birthdays and holidays. I don't always buy new and am usually on the hunt for good used books. For my middle child I buy books about super heroes and ones that make noise. He is a little more fast-paced and loves excitement in a book. He also loves Llama Llama books which are some of my favorites!  My baby loves touch and feel and lift-a-flap books. Giving books as gifts sends the message that books are special and it's fun to keep your home library fresh and reminisce about which special time the book was gifted. 

8. Have a book for every occasion and interest

This ties in perfectly with gift giving. Having books for the holidays is fun, I have a set of Christmas, Halloween and Easter books. Even one for Thanksgiving! My boys are into Minecraft and Pokémon right now so along with toys in that category we have lots of books too. 

It isn't only the fun stuff books can cover, there are age appropriate books about our bodies, if a child loses a loved one, is biting others, has parents that are not together or is struggling to make good choices. Books like these help kids know they are not alone and can be a natural conversation starter. Whatever anyone is going through in life, good or bad, there is a book out there for it and it's worth checking it out!

9. Be a part of the village

It takes a village to raise a child and it takes a village to raise a reader. Even if you don't have little kids of your own you can support reading using all the tips above. Know a new mom? Give her some alone time with the baby and bring the older kids to the library for a fun visit. Birthday party? Give them a book. Have the grandkids for the weekend? Read with them! Christmas? Gift a magazine subscription. 

Ask kids what their interests are and mention books that go along with it, tell them your favorites, talk about books, ask a middle schooler if they've read any good books in school. Any little bit helps.

10. Watch for signs of dyslexia

About 1 in 5 people are dyslexic. If you've put effort into raising a reader and your child 'hates' reading or struggles to read at grade-level consistently then there may be something else there. Dyslexia has no ties to intelligence or IQ. Many brilliant people have the disorder including Albert Einstein just to name one.

It's important to watch for early signs such as difficulty with spoken language, letter sounds, spelling and sight words. Dyslexia is genetic so if a parent or close relative has been diagnosed or has difficulty reading and spelling your child is more likely to have it as well.

Don't wait to speak with your child's teacher, school psychologist or doctor if you have concerns. It's a lot easier to help children overcome dyslexia, which is lifelong, when they are younger and if left unnoticed it can often make children hate reading and school and it becomes harder to intervene. If you have more questions about dyslexia this is a great website to check out. 

Many of these tips were really easy with one child at home. Now that we have 3 we have to work harder to fit reading in and my husband has become more involved. Him and my oldest are really into Cat Kid Comic Club right now. I can hear them laughing in the next room while I get the baby to sleep and it is priceless. My husband ordered the next two books for my son's birthday without even telling me. He also ordered some higher powered nerf gun 🤣 you just can't win them all!

Two goals I have as the baby gets older is to rotate books more and get to the library on a regular basis again. We all got a stomach bug there last year when I was 32 weeks pregnant (indoor play places are a blessing and a curse in the winter!) so I have a bit of an aversion right now but I will get it over it for the books 📚 I promise!

Whether you are reading to your child, putting a small stack of books in your living room or reading a book yourself, you are creating a reader every day with all the little things and it all matters. Keep up the great work; your child, grandchild, or little in your life will thank you someday!