Inspire and entertain with reading

Use innovative ideas and games to get your kids excited about the written word

By Stephanie McGrath

Like most kids, six-year-old Meghan and three-year-old Spencer — the children of Toronto mom Erin Dunsmuir — have a specific bedtime ritual. Teeth are brushed, pajamas are put on and, most importantly, stories are read.“Bedtime just isn’t bedtime for any of us if we don’t read at least two stories,” says Dunsmuir.

Entertain and educate

For Spencer and Meghan, storytime is pure fun, but with each passing page, good literacy habits and skills are taking shape. The children are learning to appreciate the power of the written word, something Dunsmuir keeps reinforcing with games and fun activities.

There are lots of ways to get your kids reading and thousands of media from which kids can soak up words and ideas.

Amuse with words

“Make it fun,” says children’s author Robert Munsch, famous for many titles including The Paperbag Princess and Love You Forever. “Use funny voices and sounds when you read to them. Make it interesting to them — if they like comic books, read comic books. It doesn’t have to be Shakespeare; any kind of reading is good. If they want to read books about motorcycles, then do that with them.”

Make it a game

That’s what Dunsmuir does with Spencer and Meghan. She stumbled upon a bingo game that uses words instead of numbers. She’s also crafted a special way for her and Meghan to make up their own stories. She writes down words such as he and she on cards and then they take turns making sentences. “If there was a word we thought of for a sentence, but we didn’t have it, we’d figure out how to spell it and make a new card,” she says.

Tie in reading with technology

Basic literary skills can be found in doing everyday things — and your computer can play a part in helping children to become interested in reading. “It’s not all about your traditional sitting down and reading a book together; there’s surfing the web,” says Karen Benner, communications manager with ABC CANADA Literacy Foundation.

“There are lots of fun and educational web sites [for reading] or writing e-mails. It’s a great way to build traditional literacy skills. Another way to practise your literacy using technology is to sit down with your dad to write an e-mail to your grandma,” says Benner.

Start a tale through e-mail

Use the Internet and e-mail to build a story with friends and family. Benner suggests having one person start the story with the first paragraph or sentence and then passing the plot on to someone else. You can do this traditionally by printing the paper or by sending it electronically. As the story makes its round to friends and family, an original idea is developed into a unique tale.

Sing along with stories

Munsch’s stories often feature singsong-like poems. He says not to underestimate the power of music. In fact, he often thinks of his books as songs without music because they have that same repetitive cadence.

“The structure of singing works for kids before text does,” the author explains. “So kids learn a lot about the structure of language through what we call songs and poetry. A baby’s babbling is more like a song. Songs and singing are integral to the way kids learn language.”

Invent innovative ideas for reading

Both Munsch and Dunsmuir agree that the best way to get children interested in reading is to concoct interesting activities.

“Have lots of books around and turn off the TV sometime during the day to give the kids and yourself time to read or do literacy-related activities, like singing, surfing the Internet or writing,” says Munsch.

Here are a few ideas for turning your tyke into an interested reader.

Turn your child’s bedroom into a reading haven. Kids can decorate their walls with favourite quotes from storybooks or use comic book pages as wallpaper.

Surf for story sites. There are children’s books online for all ages. Some sites just feature stories, such as Children’s Storybooks Online, while others, such as UpToTen.com’s Boowa & Kwala, use interactive pages and games to help children read. If games are what their little hearts desire, check out Kids Stuff for interactive word puzzles for kids in primary school.

Make moving magnets. Create a set of words — themed or not — in a word-processing program such as Word, print them out on magnet paper, and cut each word out. Set the pieces up on the fridge or magnet board to create your own adventures.