Literacy
♥️ Developing a Love of Reading at Home ♥️
One of the most important gifts we can give children is a love of reading. Reading regularly helps children develop their imagination, build their vocabulary, strengthen their comprehension and grow their confidence as learners. When children enjoy reading, they are more motivated to practise, which leads to stronger reading skills and greater success across all areas of learning.
The Importance of Reading Every Day
Daily reading is essential. Just 10–15 minutes each day makes a significant difference in developing your child’s reading ability. Regular reading helps children practise recognising words, understand what they read and become more fluent. It also shows children that reading is a valued and enjoyable part of everyday life.
Parents Play a Powerful Role
Parents and caregivers play a vital role in developing their child’s love of reading. Reading to your child—even after they can read independently—helps them hear fluent reading, learn new words, and enjoy stories in a relaxed and supportive way. Your enthusiasm for reading helps shape your child’s attitude towards books.
Share a Wide Variety of Texts
Encourage your child to read many different types of texts, including:
- Picture books
- Story books
- Information books
- Comics and graphic novels
- Poetry
- Chapter books
This helps children discover their interests and exposes them to different ideas, language, and styles.
The Importance of Picture Books
Picture books are incredibly valuable for children of all ages. They help develop imagination, understanding, and vocabulary. Bedtime is a wonderful opportunity to share picture books together. This special routine builds positive associations with reading and creates meaningful connection time.
Re-reading Familiar Books
Children benefit greatly from reading familiar books again and again. Re-reading helps them:
- Build confidence
- Improve fluency
- Notice new details
- Strengthen understanding
Familiar stories also provide comfort and enjoyment.
Reading Chapter Books Together
As children grow, reading chapter books together is a wonderful way to maintain shared reading. You might take turns reading, or read aloud to your child. This allows children to enjoy more complex stories while continuing to build their listening and comprehension skills.
Talk About What You Read
Talking about stories helps children think more deeply. You can ask simple questions such as:
- What was your favourite part?
- Why did the character do that?
- What do you think will happen next?
- How did the story make you feel?
These conversations strengthen comprehension and engagement.
Building Vocabulary Together
Reading introduces children to many new and interesting words. When you discover new vocabulary:
- Talk about what the word means
- Use the word in conversation
- Encourage your child to use the word in their own sentences
Using new vocabulary in everyday life helps children remember and understand words more deeply.
Read as Much as Possible
The more children read, the stronger their skills become. Most importantly, reading should be enjoyable. Creating regular opportunities to read, sharing stories together, and showing enthusiasm for books will help your child develop a lifelong love of reading.
Together, we can support children to become confident, capable, and enthusiastic readers.
Thank you for your continued support.
Julianne Kelly
Literacy Leader
