Ways Parents Can Support Reading & Writing at Home
Help your child find a place in your home that is his/her "sweet spot," the place where he/she can read or write comfortably and with little distraction. She/He might want to keep a basket of books or writing supplies near the spot.
Read aloud daily to your child. Read aloud a chapter-book before bed.
Help your child notice reading and writing that is going on in the world. Watch commuters who read, look for environmental signs, menus, etc. ... Talk about the reasons people write.
Visit bookstores and libraries with your child. Window shop when you pass bookstores so that you help your child imagine a reading life. (Oh, look, so & so has a new book out!)
Take books with you on trips. When you go out of of town or go to the doctor's office, encourage your child to take along a book. Help your child build the habit of "needing" a book.
Leave love notes for your child in her lunch box or school bag. Leave notes for him/her around the house. There's no more purposeful reading than to read something that is written for you. Also, ask your child to leave notes for you, add to your shopping list, or write him/herself reminders of things she/her needs to do.
Encourage relatives and friends to give books to your child as gifts.
Encourage relatives and friends to write to your child- you may have to remind them to use manuscript (not cursive) writing.
Subscribe to a children's magazine and have the magazine sent directly to your child. Show interest when it arrives. "Show me your favorite article." "I love that picture of the sea lions." Some popular magazines include: Highlights, Click, Ranger Rick, Sports Illustrated for Children, and National Geographic Junior. Large bookstores have lots of choices that you and your child can browse, taking subscritpion cards from the magazine(s) you choose.
Play word games like Scrabble Junior, Boggle, ABC Bingo, Word Concentration, etc. Tell jokes, riddles, limericks, and make up rhyme chains. Make up rhymes together just for fun.
Encourage your child to read aloud to younger siblings, cousins, neighbors, and even to stuffed animals.
Talk about your childhood memories. Share your own favorite kid's books and authors, your struggles with reading, etc.
Encourage your child to tell stories of his/her experiences from picture in magazines, newspapers, family photographs, etc.
Listen to your child's retellings, helping your child speak with detail. Say often, "That would make an amazing story," or "You should write about that," or "The way you said that sounds like a poem."
Tell lots of family stories and ask your child questions about stories he/she is telling you, especially when they don't seem to make sense. Respond to your child's stories with questions to clarify content (How many of you were there?) and interpretation (That's weird... Why do you think it happened?). Get him/her in the habit of telling understandable and detailed stories and anecdotes.
Bear in mind that markers, colored pencils, and fresh pads of paper make excellent birthday and holiday gifts.
Take time to look back over the writing your child has done this year or other years. Put post-its on the writing to mark things you notice, particularly about the type of writer your child is becoming.
You are your child's first and best model. Your shopping lists, notes to the teacher, birthday cards, and phone messages are all superb examples of home literacy. Kids can be included inthese everyday types of writing.
Remind your chldren to bring their writer's notebook whenever they go on a family outing. Whether it's to Grandma's, the Little League game, or a restaurant, there will be plenty to notice and comment on or wonder about.
"Copying" is ok if it means copying phrases or paragraphs that are moving into a writer's notebook. Be on the look-out for the times kids are moved when listening to a story.
Leave "literary gifts" in your child's writing spot. These might be clippings from newspapers, cards, or things they've copied from their own reading lives. Have your children tape these into their writers' notebooks.