Developing a Passion for Reading

We all want our children not only to learn to read but also to love reading. Of course, it can be discouraging to have a reluctant reader in your home. And too often boys develop a distaste for reading, but any child is susceptible to this apathy. Veteran homeschool mom Cynda Moore has written a clever blog post titled “How to Build a Reluctant Reader.” In the style of C. S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters, Cynda offers advice for achieving the opposite of what we want for our children. Her post shows how easy it is for us to cultivate an interest in reading for our children. She starts off the post with this advice.

Although we realize it is not always possible, the best way to build a reluctant reader is to avoid reading to your child. Not only should you avoid funny and meaningful chapter books read aloud to your whole family, but you should also avoid reading little things you may not even connect to literacy. For instance, don’t read his birthday card from Grandma or the highway signs as you are traveling.

My wife and I are so thankful for the eager reader we have in our house. Our second-grade daughter has an almost insatiable appetite for reading. Give her a stack of books, and she will be content for hours. It was natural for us to do these simple everyday activities Cynda mentions with our eldest child, but our challenge is repeating those same activities with our younger children. Cynda’s blog post was helpful to me in identifying what fostered a love for reading in our first child so that my wife and I can help our other daughters find a passion for reading. Read the rest of Cynda’s blog post on the HomeWorks by Precept blog.