Reading Every Day: The #1 Way to Prepare Kids for School Success

0:00 Hello, welcome to The Education Connection. I'm Robin Wilson and I'm here to help parents and teachers set kids up for success in school and beyond. So I've been recently talking about getting ready for the next year. I'm getting ready for kindergarten and then kindergartners getting ready for first grade and first grade getting ready for second grade. And I want to tell you there is one thing that you can do. Now there's a lot of things you can do, but there is one thing you can do that gives you the biggest return when preparing a child for the next school year.

0:50 And that one thing is daily reading. It's right whether you're a parent looking for ways to help your child grow as a reader in your home school or a teacher wanting to encourage families to read more at home, this episode is packed with practical tips to make it happen. So let me tell you why daily reading is the biggest return on your investment. Think about this. Parents who read just 20 minutes a day are exposed to nearly 2 million words a year. Compare that to a child who only reads for five minutes a day. They'll hear just a fraction of that.

1:32 Daily reading strengthens comprehension, builds background knowledge and helps kids succeed in all subjects, not just reading. The best part is it doesn't take expensive programs or hours of study. Just a few intentional minutes a day makes a difference. So I want to give some tips to parents. I do talk to parents and teachers, homeschool teachers, moms of homeschool, private school, and even the parents that are working with their children after they go to school and they come home in the evening. So I want to talk to parents right now.

2:14 Make daily reading a habit at home. And here are some tips that you can do to make that happen. Number one, set a daily reading routine. Kids thrive on consistency. And if you get this started and you keep it going every day, eventually they will just fall into it and start grabbing those books at that dedicated time that you have every day. Set a daily reading time. Years might be before bed when my kids were little. That's what we did. We did before bed. Well, actually I read to my kids every night before bed all the way up till my daughter was in fifth grade. And even though she was a good reader, just having me read to them things like Lemony Snicket or Junie B. Jones, I read to them every night.

3:04 And I read a chapter before they went to bed every night. But my daughter would read after dinner also every night. So she read to herself, which made her a reader. And a lot of times once she got started, it would be time to move on to a different thing in our schedule. And I would have to almost like, you've got to stop reading because you need to get bath time or, you know, other things that we had to do if we had to leave and go somewhere. But you can set those times for before bed, after dinner, right after school, and just stick to it. The more reading becomes a habit, the easier it is to keep going.

3:46 Now one way, and this is number two, but one way to keep their interest in reading is to let them pick out the books. So a fun thing we used to do when the kids were little at home is I would take them to the library every week, and I would let them pick out about five books a piece, and then I would pick out one as well. And if they are picking out their own books, they get excited about it. And I know that the statistics are that if a child is enjoying what they're reading or if they have a interest in whatever it is, they can actually read two levels above where they are just because of their interest and their motivation to figure those words out.

4:30 So if you want to make it more fun, let the kids pick out their own books at your local library or if you go to buy books maybe once a week or something, whatever your budget can afford, I know another good place. If you go to thrift stores, unfortunately it used to be 69 cents. I think it's more than that now. And I would let my kids always, always pick out books when they went and we got to where we were only picking out one book when we went because they got to have so many books at some point. So it might be a graphic novel if they're a little bit older, a favorite bedtime story or even a comic book, choice builds motivation and don't underestimate comic books.

5:16 If there are words on a page and they're reading them, I think that's a big score. So let them pick out that comic book and maybe you want to pick out something that they can read to you can read to them and they can get interested. I know like if you pick up a Clifford, the big red dog and you read it to them, sometimes if they enjoy that book, they want to read more of those and you know Clifford has a lot of books. So if you get a series go and they get excited about it and they want to read those books that you've read to them. Read aloud together. So don't stop reading aloud just because your child can read on their own. Like I said, I read to my kids clear.

5:59 I mean, my daughter was, it was all the way through her fifth grade year. Once she was in sixth grade, it got to be where it was like I, she wanted to read her own books before bed. And so I kind of laid that down a little bit, but every once in a while I would pick it up just because mama wanted to read to them just for good memories. But reading together boosts the fluency because they hear the way you talk, they hear the way you have the fluency, the comprehension. And if you want to stop in the middle of the book and say, wait a minute, I thought this was going, let me go back and look again and reread that.

6:40 That's modeling for them that it's okay to go back and check your reading comprehension. If something isn't sounding right or if something isn't making sense, you know how you can go back and check that in your kiddos will see you modeling that and they will do that as well. Plus, it's a great bonding time. Those were some of the best memories that we had before bed. Ask those questions while you're reading. Go make reading interactive, ask your children the questions like what do you think is going to happen next? Or if you end that chapter, what do you think tomorrow's chapter is going to be about? How do you think that character feels?

7:20 So ask those good questions to keep your kids engaged with the story and build comprehension. Try audio books or read along. So nowadays you have YouTube that has those books, people read, they've read so many books on YouTube. So if you can, if you're super busy or if you just want to switch it up a little bit, you can find a book on YouTube and you can also have that book. And it's kind of, do you remember when we were kids? I don't know about you. I'm a little bit older, but we would have the record player in the book would be in my lap and the record player would be going and then it would say ding and it was time to turn the page.

8:05 You can still do that with YouTube. There's no ding or anything, but they can watch the YouTube as they turn the page. They will turn their own page and they get to see it right there and read along. Have them read along books, listen in the car during breakfast or even while doing chores. Number six, make reading fun. Create a cozy reading nook. Start a reading sticker chart. Make a fun library trip. So if I've already, as I've already mentioned, and when kids associate reading with fun, they'll want to do it more. I know in the summer they have the reading programs where kids read so many books, they get the prizes.

8:51 Join them up for those because that is just a good incentive to keep them reading. You know I want to talk to teachers and if you're home school, this will apply to you again as well. But tips for teachers encouraging daily reading at home and school. So number one, send home a simple reading log. I do this every year. I've done it less most recently because of the homework statistics of trying not to send too much homework. But there were many years I had parents help keep a daily track of reading with an easy-to-use log, no stress.

9:33 They just had to write the title in the book and sign it and how many pages that they read. And I send home those little, for first grade, I send home those little eight-page books so it's super quick for them to read. Number two, model a love for reading. When kids see you excited about books, teachers, they're more likely to be excited too. And I know you're already excited. You became a teacher and so you already share that love. Share your favorite books. Talk about what you're reading and make read-a-louds engaging using those voices. Number three, encourage the parents.

10:13 So if you're a teacher in a private school and you are, oh, you're caring for students in your class, you can include parents by sending a quick email or newsletter explaining the benefits of reading aloud, even for the older kids. Sometimes parents think they should stop reading to their child once they can read independently, but that's not true. And sometimes parents are super busy. I know as a parent, I always was, and just bringing my attention to the fact that we need to set aside a time for reading is just beneficial. It's like, oh yeah, and the teacher can help you remember to do that.

10:55 Let the kids borrow books from your classroom. Not every child has access to books at home, so you can set up a classroom book bag or a lending library to encourage reading outside of school. I know that thrift stores are a really good place to get books, and I bought some from there, but also we have, it's called the teacher store in a town near us, and so they offer for a small fee once a year. I can go in there and get books as a licensed teacher to allow my kids to take home to borrow, but they have so many other things in there.

11:36 So check around, see if there is a teacher outlet or something that your community, I know that a local college also has a day where teachers in their community can come in and get books for free to help books and all kinds of things, post-it notes, pens, pencils, all kinds of things, and so your community might have something like that for you as well. Despite the reading success, recognize milestones with certificates, stickers, special reader of the week spotlight. A little encouragement goes a long way. Partner with your parents, and some of that will be with yourself because you might be homeschooling your own children, but keep parents, maybe your spouse in the loop with reading tips in your weekly newsletter or just talking to them, but you might be sending this to someone else, maybe a caregiver, babysitters, help them understand what's going on in your classroom and then when families and teachers work together, kids thrive.

12:45 So I have some closing thoughts and a call to action. Daily reading is the most, not kidding guys, it's the most powerful way to prepare kids for success. Whether they're moving into kindergarten or to fifth grade, the key is consistency. Just a few minutes a day adds up over time. So what's one thing you can do today to encourage daily reading? Pick a book, set a timer, and start small. And I want to ask if you have found this episode helpful, be sure to subscribe to the Education Connection so you never miss an episode.

13:27 So if you know somebody that this episode will benefit, please share with them. I also have reading resources available in my Teachers Pay Teacher Store, which is at Robin Wilson 1st Grade Love at Teachers Pay Teachers. I can link that in the show notes. So thank you so much for listening and I'm going to see you next time on the Education Connection.