How to get your children to love reading

I have had many people ask me over the years how I got my kiddos to read early and how to get their children interested in books because they hate to read and so on. I have been thinking of this question lately and how to respond. I came up with a list of some things that I have done with my 3 little piggies to get them to love reading. If you can't tell, I love lists.

#1 Visit your local library. When #1 was little and we were living in sunny Arizona, I would take her to the library every week for story hour. Then we would check out like 20 something books and then head over to the park. I did this forever. I also love the library because in the summer, they would do the summer reading program and had all of these incentives for kids to read and come back to get prizes. It was a great experience. I have continued to go to my local library with my kiddos and enjoy books, though not faithfully like I did back in AZ. So go, go, go to your library. It is so much fun.

#2 Sight words are wonderful. We make lists of sight words at my house and I stick them on the fridge. I periodically grab the list and run through them with my kids.

#3 Flash card games and memory are always a fun way to learn new words.

#4 Use silly voices when reading to your kids. They LOVE it!!!!!

#5 Pick out books that interest your kids. They will want to read them over and over. For example........We love scary books at my house. I do not know why. Maybe, it is because my birthday is on Halloween, so we have a ton of spooky books, but my kids love reading scary books. I love to do creepy voices and then scare them. We all laugh and always try to scare each other. I had to laugh because one time at my book club, I brought a list of suggestions for children's books and pretty much every book was a scary one. Some that I recommend would be a) Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley. b) The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt and Tony DiTerlizzi c) The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams d) Where's My Mummy by Carolyn Crimi e) There's an Alligator Under my Bed, There's Something in the Attic, There's a Nightmare in My Closet by Mercer Mayer f) Monster Goose by Judy Sierra. Those are just some off the top of my head. I'd have to look at our book shelf to get more because I KNOW I have more. haha!

#6 Pick a book that has a movie to go with it. For example, a couple of summers ago, we read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. This was a wonderful book and when we were all done, we rented the movie, popped some popcorn, ate a bunch of treats, had a pajama party and loved it. I mean you could really get into it and buy Wonka treats and chocolates, etc.

#7 Read books with values and talk about the values and stories that have happened to you while you grew up. Share experiences together and teach the importance of this particular value.

#8 Start a little kid book club and let them talk about the books they have read. So cute!

#9 Get involved in your children's school and participate in Read-a-thons, reading celebrations, contests, and giveaways. My children have a kite festival coming up that if they read so many hours they get a free kite.

#10 Read to them and let them read to you every single day. You will be so glad you did! :)