Do you want to encourage more reading in your home? Or feel like you should be reading with your young kids more often?
We all know reading with our children is one of the best things we can do to help develop their love of learning, even early on.
But it can be hard to actually make reading a priority in your home. Especially with young kids that are full of energy and never seem to want to sit still.
Today, I’m sharing some fun ideas to help develop your children’s interest in books and reading.
15 Ideas to Encourage More Reading at Home with Little Kids
I’m Mama to a 2 and 4 year old and we love to read. We have different baskets of books and bookshelves around our home, we take books outside when we play, we go to the library and story time weekly, and read stories at naptime and bedtime every night. So, yes, we love to read in our home.
That might not be the case for your family – at least not yet.
It can be hard to find the time to devote to reading books, and your kids may seem more interested in other games, toys, and more active play. And that’s great – there is a place for both!
I’m of the opinion that early reading and lots of reading helps develop a child’s love of learning. And it’s just a really sweet time to spend together and cuddle up!
Ready to read more with your little kids? Try these tips!
Look through these ideas to find ways to add more reading into your day with your kids and see what works for you!
1. Head to the library – on a regular basis
Make library trips a regular part of your week. You can find a special book bag to take, or even give each kid their own book bag to carry. Help them get excited about this!
My favorite library hack is to search on the library’s online website for books and place them on hold, so we have a stack ready for us when we get there. We still like to look for books, but at least I know we will have some solid books mixed in with the random ones plucked off the shelves.
Often, I will choose a weekly theme for our books and find books related to a certain theme (bugs, winter, farm, colors) and place them in a special basket together next to some related activities or toys.
The library can be such a fun place for kids. Some libraries seem to be more kid-friendly than others, so if you are able to go to different libraries in your area, check them all out to see which you like best.
2. Go to story time
Check if your library has a free weekly story time or similar event for kids.
Our library has a weekly story time hour where they read the kids books on a certain theme, play a couple games, and play with the other kids. It’s a great way to get out of the house and for kids to be immersed in books in a new way.
You can also meet some mom friends and let the kids practice sitting quietly and talking with other kids their age.
3. Set up a themed book basket
As I mentioned above, I love to find books on a certain theme and place them in a basket on the shelf in our playroom. If I have a related toy or game, I will place it next to the basket. Or, I will look online for free worksheets, printable games, or coloring pages to go along with the theme.
This is another fun way to introduce books and new topics, and relate them to playful activities.
Think about what your kids are interested in, and find books related to those topics. Use the library to find books and switch them out every couple of weeks.
4. Keep books all over the house
Spreading book baskets and book shelves all around the house is a great way to set up your home for more reading opportunities.
I like to keep book baskets and shelves by the couch, in our playroom, in the kid’s rooms, and anywhere I can to encourage more reading.
I have a separate basket for library books to keep them together and so the kids can find the new books easily. In the playroom, I use cube shelves for toys and will add a couple related books next to toys (train books next to the train set, a donut book next to our pretend donut shop, a race car book with the race track set).
The kids have lots of books on the bookshelves in their rooms. We read together at naptime and bedtime, and they can look at books themselves if they are having quiet time instead of a nap.
5. Take books outside
When we go outside to play, I will usually grab a few books and put in our book bag with some snacks. I like to sit on a blanket or chair near where they are playing and read my own book. If they want to take a break, they will come over and have a snack and read some books.
It keeps us outside longer, helps them take a break from more active play, and gives us lots of sweet time together.
6. Read in different areas
Reading in different locations is a fun way to change things up too. You can lay down in the grass and read, read in the kid’s playhouse, or even take a flashlight at night outside to read.
Your kids might love to build a fort with sheets, and climb inside to read. Or set up a small tent inside and read stories (you could even make s’mores).
Make reading fun for your kids and you’ll enjoy it, too!
7. Read books at snack time
Snack time is a great time to read a story to your kids. They can sit still and enjoy their snack, and you can read them a fun story while you have their attention.
You could keep a small book basket near the kitchen so you can quickly grab a book for this time.
8. Add puppets, silly voices, or songs
Make stories come to life with puppets or songs. You could work on different voices for characters in the stories, and make them really fun or funny.
9. Find books on topics your kids are interested in
Forget what you think they should be reading, and find books on topics they love.
My son loves all things construction, tractors, and trucks. I search for books on those topics and have the library hold them for us. He gets so excited when he sees those books!
My daughter loves more girly things like Fancy Nancy books, tea parties, dress up, and such. So, I try to find books that have those type things.
10. Give books for gifts
For almost all the gift-giving holidays, we give our kids books as their gift (or part of their gift). I find books on topics they love, and they get to keep those books in their rooms.
Most of the time, I will try to check new books out from the library to make sure they will like that book before I buy it. And I love to buy used books to save money. I love and use abebooks.com.
11. Make bedtime stories special
Let your kid pick out a book for bedtime each night. Cuddle up together and read as the last thing before you tuck them in.
It’s a special time to spend together and a great way to end the day.
12. Ask questions when you read
As you read a story, you can get the child more interested in the book by asking them questions or to point to things they see and name them.
You can ask things like:
- What do you think this book is going to be about?
- What do you think is going to happen next?
- Do they look happy, sad, mad?
- Can you point to the _?
- Let’s count the _ together.
This is a great way to get the kids to pay attention and really think about what you’re reading. Although, sometimes it’s fun to keep it simple and just read the story as it is!
13. Play library at home
We love pretend play in our house. I love when the kids are creative, use their imagination, and make up little shops and games on their own.
We usually play library at home after we get new books. The kids each take a pile of books and set them up like the library, then someone comes and gets books to check out. They will scan the books with the little cash register scanner and place them in a bag.
It’s fun to play with the books without even reading them, too!
14. Do a craft or coloring related to the book
When we do our preschool work, I will sometimes have the kids do a simple craft or a coloring page related to the book we read.
If your kids have a hard time sitting still for a book, you could give them the coloring page to do while you are reading.
This is a great way to bring what you are reading together with an activity that will deepen the story.
You can search online or use Teachers Pay Teachers to find crafts and coloring pages related to certain books or just the theme of the book.
15. Read while your kids do an activity
I’m a big fan of quiet hands on activities (mostly for the peace and quiet!), but your kids might like to be read to while they work with things like play doh, kinetic sand, etc.
You could give this a try or think about other times you could read to them while they are working on something.
Try a few ideas to encourage reading with your little kids!
You definitely don’t need to (or should) try to do all of these things – at least all at once!
Think about what you can do in your home to encourage more reading time with your little kids.
It might just be adding a few book baskets around your home, setting up a time to go to the library each week, finding a story time in your area, getting your kid’s their own book bag, or finding different times of the day to read to your kids.
I think you’ll find reading with your kids to fill your cup and theirs. It’s always such a sweet time to me!
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