Do you want to raise a gifted and voracious reader? Back where I came from there was no library and books were not free but there was a little bookstore in my hometown. I used to save half of my allowances for book and the other half for snacks or accessories. I was in heaven when I made my first visit to a local library in America. As an American, we tend to take this privilege for grant it. What does this have to do with raising a child, you ask? I believe raising a child who loves to read will transform her world. While it’s not easy to raise a child, it’s even tougher to raise a child during this time. Life demands of our time and energy to raise a child who loves learning and enjoys school. And no you don’t need to be a teacher or an American born to teach your child how to read. All you need is to follow a few rules below.
- START EARLY
I read to my daughter at a very early age. I vaguely remember that I read to her when she was a few months old. She started reading chapter book before kindergarten. At 7th grade, she got a PSAT practice test with a verbal score of 740 and 700 in math. At 9th grade, she got a 1497 on her PSAT test.
- CREATE A NURTURING ENVIRONMENT
We made books accessible for her in many place. We visited bookmobile after I picked her up from school. She even read The Harvard Children Medical book at age 9. I was often late for work because she was so wrapped lost track of time reading wherever she was. We have yet sent her to any after school tutoring up to this point.
- SET EXAMPLES
To instill a love of reading, we must set example. She saw me reading as a child. We made multiple trips to a local library in addition to our library bookmobile visits. We showed up in unexpected place that the librarian and the driver joked that we stalked them.
The great gifts of instilling the love of learning in your child are priceless and life changing. She will take it wherever she goes. Reading will help enlivens and expands her imagination. Teaching your child to read will give your child an edge.