11 Ways to Encourage Girls to Read
by Shellie Gardner
Reading skills are vital to every other area of a child’s education, so as a result, many parents worry more over this area of their child’s skills than any other. Girls and reading books seem to go hand in hand, but there is still a lot a parent can do to encourage their little girl to read.
So here are 11 ways to encourage young women to read. Take one tip or all of them, just incorporating a few of them into your routine will have wonderful benefits.
1) Parents set the tone in the home by setting the example, right? We teach our children by example in the way of manners, chores, attitudes, and many other life skills. Reading is very similar. One of the ways to encourage your daughter to read is to allow her to see that you enjoy reading for pleasure.
2) One of the best ways to encourage little girls to read is to snuggle with them on the couch or in her princess fort, and read to them or listen to them read to you. You’ll both treasure the time relaxing and learning together.
3) Encourage your daughter when she is very young to read. Chunky board books and lift-a-flap books are ideal for younger children to enjoy and begin learning simply by seeing the words and letters on the pages.
4) Visit your local library frequently together. Get her involved in the reading programs available. If your library doesn’t offer reading programs, create one for her at home, complete with a suggested reading list and rewards for her achievements (either time read or number of books read). Allow your daughter to have a library card of her very own and she’ll want to go to the library often.
5) Limit the amount of time spent watching television, playing on the computer, and staring at video games. This way, she will have more time to read and allow her imagination to run free.
6) Cook and bake with your daughter! She can learn to read recipes and work with you to follow the instructions. She’ll realize very quickly that reading helps her in real life, not just school.
7) Teach your daughter how to spell her very own first name. She will be thrilled to learn something that is very personal to her. Then, she will have fun pointing out the letters contained in her name as she is looking at books.
Older children can read a chore chart, grocery list, and write simple thank you notes to continue reinforcing reading skills. Card making is a lot of fun for your daughter and she can use a variety of writing utensils such as crayons, markers, and colored pencils to draw pictures and write simple phrases such as “thank you” or “love you”.
9) Girls love to sing, so be sure to incorporate songs into reading and learning time. The more she hears words in a sequence and to music, the more she will understand as she learns her phonics and sight words. Mo<
10) Get involved in her education. Make sure you understand what types of reading programs are offered and being used at her school. Books of all kinds should be available to her not only at school, but at home as well.
11) Buy your daughter a book of her own in addition to heading to the library. Many adults remember the first book that was ever "theirs". Looks for books that will appeal to her interests, made of high quality paper and hard bindings when you can - she'll love them and read them over and over.
Little girls will often read at a young age, so being early to show them letters and teach phonics skills. Before you know it, you'll find her curled up with a good book all on her own.
Shellie Gardner is an Usborne Books Educational Consultant and Supervisor. The best parts of her job are that she plays a part in getting kids reading in her community and she trains other women to meet their goals by doing the same. She loves to read to her boys Owen and Jack (3 and 6) every day.
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