The Toronto Public Library Shares Tips on How to Raise a Reader

While some kids are natural bookworms, others are more reluctant readers. Wherever your little ones fall in the spectrum, reading is one of the greatest gifts we can give to the young people in our lives. If you're looking for tips to spread the love of reading to your youngsters, the Toronto Public Library is here for you. 

Sponsored by TD and developed by TPL in partnership with Library and Archives Canada, TD Summer Reading Club has launched for another summer of learning. Focused on keeping kids reading outside of the school year and connecting families with books, the TD Summer Reading Club brings a sense of play to the act of reading and celebrates accomplishments along the way, building confidence for readers at all levels. 

Bilingual and targeted to kids of all ages, the program strives to instil a lifelong love of reading. 

For parents, TPL's Jennifer Schmitt has some tips on how to keep your kids reading. These tips come to us courtesy of the Toronto Public Library:

• Bring literacy into your everyday activities. Sing silly songs in the car and make up the lyrics as you go to develop your child’s vocabulary and ability to think on-the-spot. When reading together, make it even more enjoyable by challenging each reader to use a funny voice. Before turning over a new page, try to guess what the next sentence will be. Read half a story and have each member of your family write their own ending. Act out your favourite scene from a book. These take no extra supplies and can be done almost anywhere.
• Join a summer reading club. Studies suggest summer reading clubs are effective tools for keeping learning loss at bay and improving children’s reading performance. Some evidence suggests that children who participate in summer reading programs maintain or improve their reading regardless of age, gender or socio-economic status.
• Host a book swap. The secret to success is in sharing your knowledge. Get together with friends and family members with children and share reading materials through a book swap. This is a great way to try new genres, spend time with family and acts as an endless resource of free reading materials.
• Encourage children to develop a growth mindset. Read about characters that stick to projects and go beyond expectations – these characters can help kids gain confidence and persevere. This attitude could make the difference between a child saying, “I’m not good at math” (fixed mindset) versus “I just need more practice” (growth mindset.)
• Promote the joy of reading through digital apps. While setting limits on screen time for kids is important, apps can be useful tools to support your child’s learning because they’re fun and can be customized to individual needs. Focus on apps that can bring the family together while building storytelling, spelling, reading, writing and other literacy skills through fun games and creative play.

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Visit the TD Summer Reading Club website for more information.