For parents

How to Foster a Love for Reading in the Family

“Reading is the best education” - asserts folk wisdom. One cannot disagree with these words. Their relevance is evident every time the role of a book in a person's life is discussed.
The person-centered model of education and upbringing places the student as a personality at its core, where the book plays a significant role in shaping that personality.
To develop an interest in books, parents need to understand that “reading is a means for a child to connect with the wider world.” Books are called teachers of life. Engaging with a book is not such a simple matter.
Reading is a creative process.
Teachers and librarians of the gymnasium are constantly searching for new forms of work with students: organizing student reading, fostering a need for reading, and developing reading interest.
Observations have shown that modern children read significantly less. While in the past, morality and aesthetic culture were indicators of personal social development, material success has now become the main focus. Adults are preoccupied with material well-being. They have no time not only for reading but also for communicating with their own children. It is significantly harder for them to compel their children to read. Thus, children lack an ideal of a person who should be valued and respected for being well-read, educated, and cultured.
Therefore, one of the tasks of the family, the librarian, and the teacher is to help the child master reading skills, work with books, and elements of searching for necessary information as quickly and effectively as possible.
This means that the most honorable place among sources of information should be given to the book itself. This is possible if:

• we explore the children's interests;
• we engage with their passions;
• we pay attention to their reading preferences;
• we show the vast possibilities of exploring the world through books.

Children should be accustomed to working with books systematically, not just occasionally. They need to be taught to read quickly, but in a way that ensures comprehension. After reading, they should reflect on what they learned, what they wanted to share, and what they want to remember. It might be helpful to write down interesting information in a notebook or reading diary. They should use what they've read in their own speech and when writing creative works.
Reading is a vital area of spiritual life, so it is important to help younger students develop the ability to independently spend their leisure time with books.

Tips for Parents

How to Engage Children in Reading

1. Set a good example for your child by showing them how much you enjoy reading. Keep a large number of books and magazines at home. Let your child see you reading.
2. Let your child look at your book. Read it aloud or allow them to read it to you. Set aside a specific time and place for reading.
3. Visit the library regularly. Show your child how the library works and where they can find their favorite books.
4. Bring books to your child that meet their individual needs, such as on sports, animals, including both fiction and nonfiction.
5. Engage your child in a hobby or activity that involves reading and that they enjoy. Build, cook, or play board games, as such activities require the child to read instructions.
6. Encourage your children to correspond with their peers. These can be friends who have moved far away, distant relatives, or just pen pals.
7. Organize a “treasure hunt.” Hide an item, such as a new book, and then leave written clues that will lead your child to it.
8. Plan an excursion to the zoo, circus, museum, etc. Find books related to the trip and share them with your child.
9. Encourage your child to create different stories and write them down while they narrate. Make their own collection of stories by recording the tales and adding their own illustrations. Later, your child can read their book to you, a friend, a younger sibling, or the family.
10. If your child is a reluctant reader, come up with a game involving reading everyday items like cereal boxes, stickers, old postcards, comics, or TV program guides. Leave messages on the fridge or family bulletin board that might pique their interest.

How to Raise a Little Reader

1. Read postcards, newspapers, and instructions on baby food boxes to your child. This is very important for the child.
2. As the child grows, show them pictures and collections of stories. Colors and shapes will captivate them, and listening leads to learning.
3. Visit the library regularly. Allow children to choose books for themselves.
4. Reading before bedtime should become a regular family tradition. If the right books are chosen for reading, even older children will find reading aloud interesting.
5. Don’t forget about poetry! A short poem is the quickest way to grab attention for a moment.
6. Encourage children to read aloud while you cook, iron, sew, or engage in other activities.
7. Use television to draw attention to reading. Read more about people, countries, and various things that interest your family on television.
8. Keep plenty of reading material at home. Store children's literature on lower shelves so that children can easily reach it.
9. Let your child see you reading. Talk about what you’re reading.
10. Gift books to your children. This conveys that books are special.