When To Read With Your Child

Raise your hand if you read to your child before he/she goes to bed at night. Yay! Give yourself a pat on the back. Reading before bed is important, it grows bonds between parent and child, it creates happy pictures in your child's mind in preparation for sweet dreams. Hooray! Keep doing this!

Okay, how many of you ONLY read with your child just before bedtime? Yikes! This is (as you may know!) an often crabby time for both parent and child. It is not a good time to ask your child to retell the story, to ask comprehension questions, to ask if your child knows words in the book, or to make your child work!

Instead, set up 'reading time' as part of your child's homework routine. After my son's math sheet, we usually curl up by our fireplace on a blanket and read. My son chooses the books, and we take turns reading them page by page. This is the time I ask him to 'point to the words as he reads' ask him 'clarifying questions' and ask him to read to me!

Continue to enjoy cozy bedtime stories, but please, don't let this be the only time you read with your child!

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