Reading by 9: Encouraging children to fall in love with reading

Reading is a fundamental skill that children develop. Fostering a love for books sets the foundation for lifelong learning and at Children’s Institute, we understand the importance of early literacy and print awareness. That’s why we encourage families to create language-rich environments at home, just as in the classroom. Here are some tips to encourage your children to love reading.

Bring books home
In our classrooms and in our home visitation programs, we provide families with engaging activities that promote language learning and literacy. One way we achieve this is through our mobile lending library which allows children to borrow age-appropriate books. By giving them direct access to books, reading becomes an enjoyable part of their daily routine.

Model literacy activities

Print awareness is a child’s understanding that print carries meaning and is used for reading books, writing signs to labeling objects. Our educators play a crucial role in fostering literacy by modeling book reading behavior — from holding a book, following text from left to right and understanding the differences between letters, words and pictures.

To further model these behaviors at home, we encourage storytelling, speaking and singing with children to strengthen their literacy skills.

Choose the right book for every age
Selecting the right books for a child is essential to keeping them engaged.

• Infants: Soft picture books help infants explore with all their senses. Caregivers can talk about the images, helping infants associate words with what they see and experience.
• Toddlers: Board books with short sentences, large text and colorful images allow toddlers to turn pages independently and recognize symbols, colors and letters. Caregivers can enhance their child’s engagement by reading aloud, asking open-ended questions and discussing what their child is pointing at.
• Preschoolers: Books with storylines introduce young children to longer narratives. Attention spans vary so we encourage parents to follow their child’s lead. If they lose interest, take a break and return to the story later. Re-reading books helps children recognize letters and sounds and eventually retell the story themselves.

Make reading a daily habit
To build intrinsic motivation for reading, we integrate books into every part of a child’s day. Books are placed in our classrooms, on tables and in areas such as play centers, bathrooms and outdoor spaces. Children are encouraged to explore books independently and during structured circle time activities.

Lasting interest
By integrating books into your child’s daily life, making them easily accessible and encouraging reading as a fun activity, you can help young children build strong literacy skills. Through these efforts, we hope to instill a lifelong love of reading in every child we encounter.

Dalila Rodriguez Alegria is the Director of Education & Home Visitation at Children’s Institute. Daniela Troya is the Director of Center Based Services at Children’s Institute.