10 Tips To Increase A Love Of Literacy With Fort Magic
Posted March 5, 2021 by Fort Magic
A love of literacy is something that every parent wants their children to have. For many families, this is easy to achieve while your children are young, but as they grow, their love of reading can fade. It can be a struggle to get them to pick a book up. As parents, we know the importance reading has on our child’s development and as teachers, we know that children are often pushed to read constantly at school.
How to Develop a Love of Literacy
Often is it hard to develop a love for literacy when children have other entertainment options such as television, video games, computers, and more that they would rather spend time doing. Instead of enjoying reading, it has turned into a battle at your home to get anyone to read. Here are a few tips that hopefully can turn your kids on to reading more and enjoying the time you can spend together.
1. Find Books that Interest Your Kid
When you are trying to get your child to read more, it is important that you choose books that they have an interest in. If your child likes animals, pick a book about animals. Are they are into space? Pick one about space. When you stick to their interests, they are more likely to pick the book up.
2. Let Them Choose The Book
Letting your child pick the book they read is an important step in developing their love for reading. You can plan a day visit to the library, and let them pick out a few books or maybe even have a bookshelf at home filled with different kinds and let them pick. Even if they want to read the same book over and over, it is okay. They are developing their minds and increasing their love of literacy.
3. Routine
Helping your children create a routine when it comes to reading is important. Have them pick a small window of time each day to read. Maybe 15 minutes after they get up from a nap, before bed every night, or when they get home from school. Setting a routine helps them know what time they can expect to read and can help them enjoy it a little more. If you are having a hard time getting a routine set up, try scheduling reading in between 2 other activities they desire more, such as between snack time and outside playtime.
4. Make A Spot To Read
This is where you and your child can really get creative and where a Fort Magic Fort Building Kit can help. Creating a fun spot for your child to read can be easy and fun. Have them pick a favorite blanket, pillow, stuffed animal, and book. Then get to the building!
Pull out a Fort Magic building kit and create a place your child can curl up with a book. They can even change their spot every day to a different design based on the book they are reading. They may opt for a simple box design to have room to move around, or even a teepee design as they are reading about Indians.
Maybe your little princess is more into castles and Prince Charming, and a carriage or castle design would be perfect for her. With the kit, the possibilities of fort designs are endless and will continue to build their love of literacy.
5. Start Slow
If your child hates reading, do not force it on them, but instead, start slow. You can try to help them by building a fort together, having them pick a book to take in the fort with them, and crawl in there with them. Ask them to just look at the pictures in the book and ask questions about the pictures. Then work your way up to reading pages at a time.
6. A Place For Books
Having a place your child can store their books is important. This could be a bookshelf, a basket, or maybe even a bag. Having their books in one place for them to have easy access to can help them enhance their love of reading. You can try keeping the bag or basket inside their reading fort so they don’t have to search far.
7. Encourage Them
When you see your child pick up a book or you hear them reading out loud, try to encourage them. Simple words such as “good job” or “great book choice” can encourage your child and give them the confidence they need to keep reading! You can even add a note in one of their books at the end saying how proud you are of them. Try adding a paper to the inside of their fort where they can mark how many books they have read, and once they hit a milestone, they get a simple treat.
8. Act Silly
Kids love to have fun with their parents. If you are curled up in the fort with them and seeing they are reading a silly book, try getting them more involved. Maybe tell a joke or try tickling them. If the book seems to be more serious, you can still make it fun by putting on your best serious faces and reading to each other in your most serious voice.
9. Read Out Loud
Some children struggle with reading and hate reading out loud. Encourage your child to read out loud to you, to their siblings, or to their stuffed animals. When you are reading to them, take turns. You read a page out loud and then let them read a page. This can help them gain confidence in their reading skills and also help them in school when they are called on in class.
10. Most Importantly, Have Fun!
The most important tip is the last one. Reading is fun, so have fun while reading! If your child wants to dress up in a costume, build a pirate ship fort, and read a book on pirates, let them! Should they want to be a princess and a knight in their own castle fort and pull out a fairytale book, let them! Every day can be a new adventure with a new fort. Make reading fun for your children and encourage them along the way!
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Photo Credits:
The Artful Parent Blog: One of our absolute favorite creative blogs for children and families. The Artful Parent blog is filled with simple ideas to fill your family’s life with art and creativity. A must-see blog for sure.
Delia Creates: Delia Creates is a gorgeous lifestyle and creative crafting/sewing blog that celebrates all things family and personal expression through lovely photographs and posts.
Fort Magic Customer Photos via Facebook: Visit our Fort Magic Facebook page to see our customer creativity shine with fun pics and videos of families enjoying their Fort Magic kit during playtime.
