5 Great Ways To Boost Your Child's Reading Skills
Taken from KStar Reading Tips
One really easy, really effective way to boost your child's reading skill is to do fun activities that require lots of reading.
Read in the kitchen. Whenever you bake or cook with your child, designate them as recipe-reader. Ask your child to read the directions to you while you gather ingredients. Also ask your child to read the food labels for a lesson in nutrition while you're at it.Read in the car. Give your child the title of Chief Navigator while you're in the car. Ask your child to help you navigate by calling out street, building and road signs for you. The car is also a great place to play letter and word "I-Spy" on billboards and store signs. You pick a letter or word. The person who finds it first on any sign or license plate wins a point. Then let your child pick a letter or word, and rotate back and forth.
Another fun car game is the license plate game. Next time you head out for a long car ride tally how many license plates you locate from different states. It's a great way to pass the time and a terrific way to boost reading skills.
Read when assembling. Next time you assemble something, whether furniture or a new toy, ask your child to help you read the instructions. Another idea is to tackle craft projects that require more instructional reading, like model airplanes or kite kits. The more your child sees, first hand, how useful reading is in everyday life, the more they'll want to read!
Read to communicate. Here's a fun way to boost reading skills: stash notes to your child in their lunchbox or tuck notes under their pillow. And encourage your child to write back and to surprise you with notes of their own. It's lots of fun and great reading and writing practice.
Also encourage your children to send letters, postcards or e-mails to friends and relatives. This is a terrific way to stay in touch with distant relatives and to maximize reading (and keyboard) practice. Another option is to help your child find a pen-pal, either in the United States or abroad, with whom they can exchange letters, postcards and photos. Not only does this boost reading skills, it also enhances geographic literacy as well.