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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Summer Reading Printables and Tips for Parents

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Turkey in Disguise Activities

Every year at my daughter’s school I think it’s the second or third graders do an activity where they have to disguise a turkey to keep it from being eaten at Thanksgiving. The kids draw the disguise and write a little bit about why they thing that would be an effective way for the turkey to hide. There were some really creative ideas, including one year one was dressed as an eraser for some reason?

If this is an activity you’d like to try with kids in the classroom or at home, check out these turkey in disguise printables to get you started.

If you want to keep it totally basic you can just print out a turkey in disguise coloring sheet like these from The Best Ideas for Kids. There are a few different options kids can use to decorate and they write in what their turkey is disguised as.

My Bored Toddler has a similar printable that just asks what the child will cover the turkey with to hide it. This one would be fun to use in a plastic sleeve or laminated, then you can use it with playdough, cover it with leaves or glass gems or draw on it and use it again.

Easy Peasy and Fun has a paper doll-inspired take on turkey disguises, with printable costumes you can take on and off to hide your turkey quickly. The disguise is attached to the regular turkey with a tab so you can flip it up and down to have a regular turkey or one disguised as a peacock, football player, astronaut and more. This one includes a writing activity so students can explain why they picked the disguise they did and why they think it will work.

Red Ted Art has a set of 12 disguises you can buy (or you can get six random costumes for free) that come in both color and black and white. Kids can just assemble the turkeys or they can color them and then put them together. The set includes a basketball player, pirate, chef, unicorn, mermaid, robot and more. It doesn’t include a writing activity but you could also have kids write about which character they picked and why.

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