You guys, I love reading. I love reading so much that I have consumed (and completely finished) 47 books this year. If I were to include the books I’ve skimmed or started but didn’t finish, I’d be somewhere near 60+ on the number of books I’ve read this year.
From the time my oldest was born, I have tried so hard to instill a love of reading in her. I’ve done everything the professionals tell you to do for kids to enjoy reading. I don’t ever push books on her, I let her take the lead on what to read, how to read it, and when to read them. I never turn down an opportunity to read a book if she’s bringing one to me. Yet still, she’s seemed very disinterested in reading and learning to read.
It’s been hard for me to have such a love for reading and watch her not care as much. She’s now five years old and started kindergarten this last fall. It seems like an opportune time to introduce chapter books with a little more depth and story to them, but those turn her off even more! I always dreamed of the day I would sit down in a big recliner with my child and read Charlotte’s Web for the first time, but that day feels so distant to me right now, which is disappointing.
However, I’m doing my best to create a safe, fun environment around books for her, so I’m working every day on not pushing the literature! Instead, we spend plenty of time surrounded by books, all throughout our home at the school library, and the public library. I model reading for her by reading my own books. We also spend a lot of time looking through picture books but not reading them, which is always a win, too.
Do you have a kiddo that doesn’t love reading whether your own child or in your classroom? How do you help foster a love of reading and an environment of support for them?