I recently completed a new series of blog posts on Parental Engagement and reading. You can view the entire series over at the Demme Learning Blog.
Watch the video overview
Part 1 â€“Â Books and Academic Achievement
If your children donâ€™t see you valuing books, they wonâ€™t learn that books are valuable. If your children donâ€™t see you reading, theyâ€™ll assume that reading is not important. Buying lots of books â€“ and taking the time to read them â€“ is an incredibly important way to invest in your childâ€™s education. The bottom line â€¦. books matter.
Reading aloud is about communal relationship, bonding, and expression of love. Read to your children, let them read to you, and have your children read to each other. Remember, years and years from now, your children may forget the specific plot details of the books you read to them â€” but theyâ€™ll never forget that you read to them.
Part 3 â€“Â Facebook: The New Readerâ€™s Digest
Facebook is the new Readerâ€™s Digest. Consider how most of engage with our Facebook feed; we enjoy seeing pictures, reading little snippets that make us laugh, and finding practical advice for everyday life. We want to be entertained and also informed and we want it to be in bite-size chunks rather than being hit with a wall of text.
Part 4 â€“Â Fiction and Training the Imagination
Introduce fiction early and often and talk with your children about which stories they are drawn to and which stories are their favorites. Go to the library together and discover new books and share your favorite novels with them. Fiction is a great way to train an imagination and a robust imagination is a great skill to have whether you are a scientist or an artist.