Encouraging Reading and How to Read Chapter Books with Preschoolers

September 28, 2016 by Sarah White Leave a Comment

My daughter has always loved books and reading. I think that the fact that we have read a lot, her whole life, made her see books and reading as important, and we still read together a lot, though she can read a lot of things by herself now, too.

I really liked this post — and book recommendations — from Mama Smiles that suggests putting books out in the open and displaying them nicely to encourage kids to read. We bought a bookshelf for a weird empty space in our living room that is full of books for her, and I sometimes also do book baskets with themed books to get her interested in a particular subject.

We were reading chapter books together long before she could read them herself, so I love these ideas and tips for reading chapter books with preschoolers from Growing Book by Book. Jodie notes that getting kids hooked on chapter books early can encourage a love of reading that will last, and that there are some books that are better than others for kids that age, not just because of subject matter.

Do you read or have you read chapter books with young kids in the past? I’d love to hear some of your favorites.

[Photo via Growing Book ny Book.]

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You can also see some of our other articles on reading activities and ideas here.

125 more activities to get your child to read.

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Get Kids Moving with a Themed Obstacle Course

I feel like I’ve been writing a lot (and thinking a lot) about things that you can do inside when it’s too hot to consider going outside to play, but when you get those nice days (or if you’re already planning things to do when it’s a little cooler out) you need to be ready to take advantage.

Having a piece of chalk and a sidewalk is all the preparation you need for a basic movement obstacle course. Think of it as a much more intricate game of hopscotch with other movements like twirling, balancing, jumping and throwing.

The original idea behind this post was the pirate themed chalk obstacle course from Chick Link. This super cute (and long!) course includes things like jumping over a crocodile, balancing on the plank, catching a fish by throwing a hula hoop, spinning in a storm, rowing a boat and more, high-fiving the pirate and finally getting to the treasure (which is also just drawn, or you could have little fake jewels) at the end.

This theme is super cute but it occurs to me you could do something similar with whatever your kid is into. Make the course based on characters they like with activities from shows or movies they enjoy. Think about how you can incorporate easy movement like jumping, stomping, balancing, twisting, stretching or throwing into an activity.

Maybe a Curious George course where you pretend to climb a tree, “swing” through the vines by jumping, toss the yellow hat on the man, etc.

And while this one is totally done on sidewalks, if you don’t have access to that much sidewalk you could do it with signs marked in the grass or even just calling out actions to kids while they run around the playground.

Or do it inside with tape and signs, if it’s still too hot to think about going outside but you want to get those kids moving today.

[Photo: Chick Link]

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