Making Story Time Part of your Day
Reading is so important for young children. If children learn to enjoy books at an early age it can set them up for future success in school, better self-education skills, and a lifelong source of enjoyment. Sometimes it is difficult to really integrate reading into our daily lives even though we understand the importance of it. Bedtime stories are common but they only account for a small way that books can become a part of our daily life.
Keep books everywhere. You will be more likely to read a book to your child when you have a few spare moments if there are books available. Baskets can be filled with books and are easy to place in several locations around your home. Rotate the books that you keep in each basket so your children do not become board with the selection of books.
Sort books by theme. I like to use plastic magazine storage containers to sort books by theme so that we can easily find a book on whatever subject we are interested in. You can sort books by season to help your preschooler learn about things that are of interest to them during different times of the year.
Have a comfortable place to read. In my house I have a very ugly chair but it is the most comfortable chair in my house. I keep a basket of books next to the chair and my children love to rock in the chair and cuddle while they are being read to. Simply having a nice place to read and books available to them has encouraged my children to bring me books throughout the day because they enjoy story time, and who can ignore a preschooler begging to be read a story.
5 minutes can really make a difference in teaching your children to love reading. Some of my best memories as a mother are snuggling up with my children in the big ugly chair and enjoying them while they are small.
