A majority of the educational process relies on the ability to read. Reading is the key to everything from art to zoology, and the process of literacy begins with parents. To make reading fun, early education at home is a vital tool available to every home.
Be an example
The Harvard Graduate School of Education explains that your child will learn from what you do. When your child sees you reading, he or she will be curious about words. There are some simple ways to give children an incentive to read:
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Let your child see you read
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Stock the bookcase with children's books
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Read to infants and toddlers
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Talk to children about what they read
Visit the library
A weekly visit to the library will illustrate the power of reading. Most libraries offer read-alongs and other group activities for early learning. Not only will she gain perspective on the sheer number of books available, she will also be encouraged to read when she sees other children doing the same thing. Use your library visits to explore the child's interests, and then act on what she enjoys.
Provide interesting material
Pay attention to the subjects that your child is drawn to, and make an effort to have those subjects available at home. If your son enjoys bicycles, put a few appropriately aged books about bicycling on the lower shelves of your home bookcase. You can even make reading fun by including books on favorite subjects such as zoo animals, foreign cultures or just about anything.
Expand a child's horizons
Connecting reading fun with daily life builds interest. If your son likes cookies, make books available that talk about many different kinds of cookies, or describing cookies from around the world. If you bake cookies, let the kids help, making reading fun while creating a favorite dish out of the recipes you use. Connecting the things they like to books is a wonderful educational tool.
Introduce new subjects
With books, your son can visit distant places or learn how caterpillars turn into butterflies. Capitalize on newfound subjects with books and visual examples such as puzzle maps, or books that explain the benefits of butterflies. Select playtime activities related to your daughter's favorite books. It will help her learn to read by spelling the names of items out loud. Practice writing the words to reinforce what she has learned.
Communicate with teachers
The classroom learning process is often abbreviated in order to cover many subjects. Talk with teachers, or ask for a weekly or monthly email of the materials to be covered in class. Integrating classroom studies into the home will help overcome the stigma that learning is only done at school.
Studies have shown that a child who learns to enjoy reading while they are young will have more respect for the educational process later in life. Early education and reading fun can be combined to give children a head start, and will encourage them to be more interested in books as they get older.
Article sources
Raising Strong Readers
http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/16/03/raising-strong-readers
25 Activities for Reading and Writing Fun
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/25-activities-reading-and-writing-fun