There is good news about reading! While school districts and news outlets often focus on test scores, we found a few fun, positive practices that will help kids enjoy reading. Kids who LIKE reading will READ MORE and THE MORE YOU READ THE BETTER YOU READ! Here is a round-up of great ideas to inspire reading.
A Super Hero Barber
A Dubuque, Iowa barber encourages children to read by offering free haircuts to children who read to him. Check out this heartwarming video from NBC Nightly News:
Librarians on Bikes
What do you do when you live in a “book desert” without easy access to books? You have librarians deliver books on bicycles of course! Good Project Literacy recently featured an article about the practice- which encourages children to read by offering them free books.
Books and Dogs
As a Reading Specialist, Michele often advised children to go home and read to someone- a parent, a sibling, even a dog! There is even a beloved series for beginning readers entitled Three Stories You Can Read To Your Dog and Three More Stories You Can Read to Your Dog.
Now it looks like others are on to this idea. In Chicago, the organization Sit Stay Read works to increase reading confidence and generate excitement about reading by allowing children to read to dogs. Check out the WGN Chicago story about this program, which is increasing reading scores!
https://youtu.be/Of8SnsydhD4
Books and Cats
We could not leave cats out of the reading equation! At the Animal Rescue League of Berks County, Pennsylvania, children ages 6-13 are allowed to read to shelter cats. The program is designed with two goals, to improve reading skills and to help shelter animals.
Free Books for Everyone
We have previously written about our love of Little Free Libraries. What is not to love about free books in a cute package?
These little “houses” found on private property, near bike trails, in parks and many other locations inspire the love of reading by providing free book exchanges. There are over 30,000 Little Free Libraries all over the world. Find one near you at the Little Free Library Website. Children love to take a book and leave a treasure for someone else to discover.
We hope these ideas inspire you to encourage the children in your life to enjoy reading. We would love to hear your creative ideas to inspire readers. Please share your ideas in the comments below – who knows, you may just inspire someone to try something that brings joy and creates future life-long readers!
Leave a Reply