2. Reading in family
What benefists can come from reading in group?
A family that reads together will get closer as a group
and share moments and experiences during de reading.
Healthy discussions and conversations about the
books will help even more. Furthermore, summer is
practically here and it’s a great opportunity to occupy
children’s free time.
But my kids don’t like to read!
Most children don’t like to read due to minor matters
that should not be faced as a problem. The majority of them
just need a little push with a well-chosen book. All kids
have fertile imaginations that will get stronger with this
activity.
3. What do i need?
You will need:
• Library card
• Books
• Paper
• Pen or pencil
• Notebook
• Clothes for costumes (optional)
• Ingredients for recipes (optional)
Duration of the activity:
We suggest that the reading sessions last a minimum of 30
minutes.
4. The reading
1. Choose the Books
The first step of this activity is also the most important since it
will define its success or failure. The choosing of the books will
determine the level of engagement of the children.
Make a list of books of various genres and decide which ones fit
better to your children. If you want to ally education to this
activity you can also select books from the reading plan of the
next school year.
Don’t forget to ask the opinions of the children. Depending on
the age, they already know what they like. However, if they pick up
books from a series they already read try to introduce them to
whole new stories so they can broaden their horizons.
5. The reading
2. Read in Family
Once chosen, you can start reading as a group. Reunite the
family everyday in a room, at home or by the garden, to read
together in silence during at least 30 minutes.
You may feel the need to talk about the story but, if you do so, you
will also disturb the reading of other members of the family.
So, we recommend that you put together a little book club every
week so you can talk about the developments in the story.
We also suggest to not allow electronic devices inside the
reading room. It’s easy to get distracted by cellphones, tablets and
computers so we recommend to do the readings in paper and
not through electronic devices.
6. The reading
3. Act like characters from
the books
If your kids like to act like characters from movies and
cartoons they will also love doing it with ones from books.
More than in other kinds of entertainment, book characters
allow representing them with more freedom. This is an
opportunity that children will thank for by using their
imagination and bring their favorite characters to life.
To add more fun you can also dress with costumes similar
to the book characters. Don’t forget to join the activity so the
children don’t feel alone.
7. The reading
4. Write your own ending
One you finish the book why stop there? Take the chance to
encourage even more your children’s imagination so
they create a new ending, alternate storylines and even
continue the adventures of their favorite characters.
You can go further and put aside a notebook that will be their
writing journal so they feel encouraged to write and can
save everything to remember years from there.
This is a great opportunity to work the expression and
creative writing of your children, a skill that will serve
them well as they climb their academic stairs.
8. The reading
5. Cook food from the books (optional)
We already said that the level of engagement of your kids in the reading is
related to the chosen book but also with the activities organized around
it.
Cooking food and dishes mentioned in the book or inspired in the
culture and period portrayed in it can be incredibly engaging to
children and even help them like to cook.
You can even create a themed dinner around the story of the book with
various dishes and decoration according to it.
9. The reading
6. Organize thematic visits (optional)
As much or even more engaging than food dishes, organizing thematic
visits to places that remind ou that could be the stage to the read stories
can be an unforgettable activity for children.
Medieval stories can create the possibility to go to castles, cathedrals
and churches. On the other hand, the science fiction genre can guide your
family to a planetarium.
Despite being an optional activity, put together themed visits is a great
option to do someting cultural and to enjoy the nice summer weather
by going out with your family in the weekend.
