Setting Yourself and Kids Up for Success

 You won't be successful if you don't keep trying and finding things that work and things that don't. Of course things that are successful for my family in reading is not going to be the same for your family. I know for me, I try to set a time to read to my kids individually as well as a family. When I read one on one with each my kids I focus on a book close or slightly above their reading level. I use this time as a one-on-one time with each of them and will discuss more in depth about the book then when we are reading as a family. So here are some tips. 

Set Yourself Up for Success 

1. Keep the book handy. Sometimes you will be surprised when the perfect time to read to your child is. 

2. Peg it to your day. Make it a priority in your day. Not the last thing on a checklist. 

3. The earlier in the day, the better. I try to get my one-on-one time with my kids earlier in the day. But also do the family read right before bedtime. Which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. 

4. Record Your Progress. Keep track of the books you read as a family and the books you read individual with your kids. No matter if you read the book over and over. Keep track. I keep track on goodreads. I have a bookshelf on it for each of my kids. I have a bookshelf for family reads and also for each kid book I read that year. It's fun to see how my kids progress through the year. 

 5. Make a read-aloud shelf. Keep things that the kids can do during read-aloud in a certain place. That way it's easy to grab and you are not scrambling and wasting time trying to find things. 

6. Take advantage of an captive audience. This means find times where your kids are stuck in one place. Such as in the car, eating at meal time, doctor's offices. There are plenty of places where you can sneak in some reading when the kids are stuck. 

7. Books in every room. By having a book in every room of the house it makes it quickly to grab a book and to read it when you can sneak time in. We have books in all the kids rooms, in the living room, family room, and in the car. I also keep my kindle with me which also has kids books on for me. 

8. Set limits on screens. I have a hard time with this one because there is so many good apps out there. Some of which help my kids learn. My kids really enjoy reading and listening to books on Epic app. But in reality screens are really should be the last thing in the house. I know it's been hard in my house with remote learning and having too much screen time. So make sure you get time off the screens and read a book.

Really, just find what works for your family and keep at it. Don't give up when things go wrong and trust me they will. Things will work out and it work out.