To celebrate Children’s Book Week 2023, we have spoken to some amazing small businesses and kids activity providers to tell us about their Top Tips for Improving Children’s Reading.
Storytime magazine is the biggest story magazine in the UK. Each issue is packed with fairy tales, awesome animals, inspirational children, myths, legends, gorgeous illustrations, puzzles, games and much more.
There are no adverts, no plastic toys, and each issue arrives in a special envelope, so children have the excitement of receiving their own post. If you would like to try Storytime for yourself – there’s a half price trial offer on their website here: storytimemagazine.
The Storytime team knows a thing or two about telling stories, so here are their top tips on reading together at home!
When is the best time to read to my child?
The best time to share stories is when your child is receptive enough to enjoy them. That could be before bath-time or tucked up in bed. The best guide is your own child so keep trying until you find a time that works for everyone.
How many stories should I read?
Experts often look at the length of time you read, rather than the number of books. The reading charity Booktrust recommends 10 minutes every day. We say, aim for 10 minutes when your children are very little and gradually increase the time as they get older.
How do I read stories?
The key to how to do stories is to be yourself, even if that means tripping over words and avoiding silly voices. You’re not a Hollywood actor; you’re a parent. Read with enthusiasm and pleasure and you’ll be fine!
What are the best stories to read?
As a good starting point, the best stories for children tend to have the following themes:
At what age should I stop reading stories?
If your child enjoys it, there’s no reason to stop. The longer you carry on reading, the more they’ll pick up from you about tone, expression, pronunciation, and sharing new words. They’re learning without trying.
If you would like more reading tips, you can download the Storytime Home reading pack with reading rewards, a chart, reading badges and more at storytimemagazine.
Whether you have a reluctant reader on your hands, or you simply want to encourage your child to read more, here are some ways to ignite their love of reading.
Visit brightlighteducation.co.uk for more top tips to improve children’s reading.
About Bright Light Education
Bright Light Education is a successful tutoring business for primary school children based in London but operating globally through online and face-to-face tuition. It is run by two primary school teachers who have over 10 years’ experience in the education sector. Bright Light Education offers two services:
1) They manage a network of around 30 qualified teachers who offer 1:1 tuition, both face-to-face and online.
2) They run highly popular Creative Writing and English Comprehension courses. These courses are for Year 2 through to Year 6 children, including 11+ examination preparation.
To sign up to their monthly newsletter, visit bit.ly/30veo9h
Website: brightlighteducation.co.uk
Instagram: @brightlighteducation
Facebook @brightlighteducation.co.uk
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/64743376
The Good Schools’ Guide – Bright Light Education
If you’re looking for some fresh tips to improve your child’s reading skills, Reading Eggs has some great tips in store for you. Have a look at these top tips to boost your child’s literacy skills.
Provide context
Start with something children can relate to, such as their name. This helps them to learn letters and their corresponding sounds in context. Talk about the way the letters look, sound and feel. Show your child how each letter makes its own sound but when you put them all together they make your child’s name.
Discuss their reading
Once you’ve read a book, discuss the story and ask questions. Talk about the character’s motives and traits, try predicting what might happen next and relate themes to real-life situations. These discussions will develop your child’s ability to infer information and build their vocabulary, language and emergent literacy skills.
Let your child choose what they want to read
Let your child choose their own reading material, following their interests and inclinations. You can support your child by suggesting texts they might like based on what they have enjoyed reading in the past. This could be the next story in a series, a book by the same author or more titles in the same genre.
About Reading Eggs
Proven to help your child learn to read in just 15 minutes a day, the online award-winning learn-to-read programme is designed by primary school teachers to build your child’s essential reading skills. For ages 2–13, Reading Eggs has been enjoyed by over 10 million children around the world. Kids love the fun characters and catchy songs and you’ll love seeing their confidence grow as they learn essential reading skills – skills that will stick with them for life.
Get your 30-Day FREE Trial of Reading Eggs here.
Reading is an important part of a child’s emotional and intellectual development. But a love of reading doesn’t always come naturally and some children need a little encouragement.
What can you do to help?
Our book boxes are carefully designed by our team at A Pocketful Of Books to encourage this curiosity and to help kids find books that they enjoy and develop a love of reading. Each box really brings the book to life with surprise gifts and a tailor-made magazine packed with fun facts and activities, all inspired by the book – from art and craft to brain teasers, experiments and more. Books are carefully selected from a range of genres and authors and are usually new or recently published. There are three reader levels to choose from, as well as a range of monthly subscriptions or single boxes, so it’s easy to find something to suit your child. What’s more, for each box that we ship we make a donation to global reforestation programmes.
Website: apocketfulofbooks.com
Instagram: instagram.com/apocketfulofbooks
The Daring Droplets: World Water Cycle Team is a 36 page illustrated children’s book aimed at 3-8 year olds. Drizzle, Dribble and Dazzle have a race to see who will complete a water cycle first.
The Daring Droplets’ Diary: 350 million years ago to today is a 36 page illustrated children’s book aimed at 6-10 year olds. Drizzle, Dribble and Dazzle demonstrate how long the water cycle has been going for by starting their diary in prehistoric times and ending in the present.
Website: survivalsupersquad.co.uk/
Beau’s Bookshop offers high quality Usborne Books for all ages – and we accept World Book Day tokens too!
Whether you’re wanting to help your preschooler learn to read with our Phonics Readers box set, or engage your older book worm in an amazing fiction series such as this Cogheart range, then look no further.
Here at Beau’s Bookshop we firmly believe that every child is a reader – they just need to find the right book.
Feel free to get in touch for personal recommendations, or head to beausbooks.co.uk to browse or purchase from the full range.
Facebook: facebook.com/beausbookshop/
Email: [email protected]
Our top tips to get your child engaged in reading would be:
‘The Tale of Starting School,’ helps children to learn about and prepare for starting school before they even begin!
Children will become familiar with their new teachers, new environment & new routines by personalising their Tale with photographs and filling in the different sections.
Once their Tale is complete, children will be ready to start, ready to learn and most importantly ready to have fun and enjoy school!
Website: talesofmebooks.
Instagram: instagram.com/
Facebook: facebook.com/
Parrot Street Book Club is a subscription book club for children aged 5 to 14. Each month your child will receive a carefully selected chapter book and activity pack in a letterbox-friendly package addressed to them. You will discover great new books and titles that you might not have found for yourselves, helping to encourage your child to read more widely.
All our books can be enjoyed equally by boys and girls and our book club-style questions and activities all add to the fun. Choose between two age categories to suit your children’s reading ability. Plus for every book shipped we make a donation to Coram Beanstalk, a great UK literacy charity.
Find out more at parrotstreet.com