Breakfast bonding

Take every opportunity to teach your child to read. Point out letters on the box of cereal at the breakfast table, or ask them to identify letters from their name on the jar of peanut butter.

Library love

Your local library is the source of seemingly unlimited reading matter – and it’s free. Take your child along for storytime, or simply settle down in a quiet, comfy corner and make your own if there’s no formal storytime on offer.

Planning for holidays

Children love getting involved in family activities. So next time you’re headed off on holiday get your children involved with the planning. Spend some time with them researching on the internet – see if they can spot your holiday location on google maps.

Make a meal of it

Involve your child in weekly meal planning by asking them to find a recipe and help with the shopping list. They can also help you in the supermarket by reading items off the list and finding them on the shelves.

Reading rewards

Set a goal of how many pages, chapters or books your child can read per week. Make up a reward chart and place a series of stickers for each goal reached. Challenge your child to read a certain amount of books in a month – and ask them how many they think they can actually read.

Filmic friends

Finding books that match movie or television characters is one of the easiest ways to instil a love of reading in your child. Whether your son loves Toy Story, or your daughter’s a fan of Dora the Explorer, you’ll find books suitable for many ages and stages featuring their favourite character. Before you turn the page ask, “What will Buzz do next?”.

This article was written by Linda Drummond for Kidspot, New Zealand’s best education resource.