Getting into the reading habit

It has taken patience and time to finally get Ali Adem into the habit of sitting quietly by himself during the day and reading. At first, he was fidgety and did not concentrate for too long on the task at hand. I realized that the key to helping him discover the world of books was finding ones that piqued his interest. When he was younger, he was fascinated by trains, so we bought books in Turkish and English about his favorite topic. An extra bonus to his reading about his favorite subject was that his confidence level rose because he realized that he could learn new things and tell me all about his new discoveries.  

What I have noticed from his choice of books is that he loves for us to read fictional stories together, but when alone, he prefers to read non-fiction. The stories he wants to hear and read at bedtime are sometimes funny, sometimes exciting and filled with adventures. Long books are read in installments, with just a few pages covered each night. We do a brief recap of the story each night to remind each other what has happened so far in the story, and then we pick up where we left off from the night before. However, in spite of enjoying non-fiction on our nightly reading sessions, I have noticed that when reading on his own, Ali Adem generally chooses non-fiction books filled with photographs and illustrations that he carefully studies. Later, he often draws his own pictures to illustrate what he has learned. These he proudly shows me and explains what he has newly learned.  

When we began reading together, an important lesson I learned was that we did not have to finish every book we started. Occasionally, after beginning to read a book, I found that Ali Adem quickly lost interest in it. Sometimes this was because the subject was not of interest, or the reading level was too low or too high for him. When he is not engaged in a story, we simply set it aside. Books that are above his current level are often returned to at a later time as his skills improve. Those that are below his level are usually passed on to either his school library or to friends with younger children.  

Timing is always important when trying to interest a child in reading. I found that there are different times of day when Ali Adem likes to read, in addition to our bedtime ritual. During the week, schoolwork takes up most of his time after school, so other than his daily class assignments, he does not have much time to simply sit and enjoy a book. Weekend afternoons are a good time for Ali Adem to take a short break from scheduled activities and trips to the park or to visit friends.  

I encourage my son to read, but I am also careful to not force him to do so. I do not want him to feel as if it is any sort of punishment, or a chore to be finished up quickly so that he can move on to something more exciting. He does love going to bookstores and looking for new books to bring home to read, so we try to include this as part of our weekly routine. We look through the books together, finding ones that he is interested in taking home. Not all children will want to sit down and read a book every day. As parents, it is up to us to set the example. If our children see us reading every day, whether books, magazines or newspapers, they will learn that this is an important and valuable part of our lives. Ali Adem and I frequently discuss new things we have learned from what we have read. Even though he does not yet sit and read on his own every day, he understands the importance of books. Each new discovery excites him, and me.