Tips on how to help my kids enjoy reading please

[Sammiez]

May I please ask what simple books my 5year old DD could read then? I must say,from reading threads on this forum,that I have been very guilty of pushing her to read just the school books(ORT for her school). I, however, did not do it out of competition with other kids as I have only just found out about reading ages/varying levels. I am a foreigner and where I come from,kids read 'only' school texts at school and aren't moved up or down stages/levels. I loved reading as a kid and so was quite voracious. I must say it helped my spellings,etc., a lot at the time.
Since coming to the UK,I have been so lost with respect to the methodology here. It is quite different from where I come from. I have been delighted by my DD reading the ORT books and I have had to learn to read to her as often as I can and remember(we do not have that culture either) I would really love my kids to love reading but I have found that making/forcing my older dd to read the ORT books has only made her see reading as a chore.
How can I help her please? And also what simple,interesting books could anyne suggest to boost her confidence and interest? I have the Usborne first readers and some ORT ones but thinking of proper short stories?
Thanks a lot.

We started out reading the Faraway Tree stories to our 5 year old DD who then astounded us by reading them for herself. She's now reading her way through the Rainbow Fairy books and has developed a real love of reading (like mother like daughter). There are some good deals on the 42 book set of the Rainbow Fairies - we paid £10 for the lot online. I have read reviews that parents think they're a bit samey after the first 20, but DD loves them so they might be worth a try for you.

Go to the local library, browse through the picture books, let her choose the ones that appeal to her. You could have a quick glance through some first and offer ones with a limited amount of text..there will be lots to choose from and librarians are usually very helpful if you ask them.When you get them home I suggest that you read them to her first...probabl;y more than once and then, depending on her reading leval she will be able to read some/all of the texts using the pictures as cues if she can't work out all the words.
There are hundreds of wonderful picture books out there, enjoy the fun to come!

Apoologies for typos..'leval'

I agree about the library. Let your daughter choose the books and if they are too hard you could read them to her or share the reading. Talk about the stories too. Have fun just enjoying the books. Relate things that happen in your family to stories you have read. At age 5 I would make sure that you are focusing on the enjoyment and sharing of books rather than too much "hearing her read".

You may also be able to borrow CD's of stories from your libraries. Let your children enjoy these too. ( Although it isn't reading itself it helps children build up a picture in their heads of what is happening in the story and this is an essential skill for reading comprehension.) Try and make library visits a regular thing (say every fortnight).

Make sure your children see you (and any other significant adults) reading and enjoying books. They will then get the message that this is part of "normal" life, not just about a school "chore".

You may find that these strategies also help your elder daughter too!

Can I ask if they see you reading for pleasure- books magazines anything?

Thanks for the suggestions. I will try to start with those.
mrz I hardly read anymore and mostly at night after they have gone to bed. My older dd is almost 6 and can read quite well but I know it is because she has to not that she enjoys it and she will hardly ever pick a book up without being asked

Often children respond well to seeing adults "enjoying" reading perhaps a quiet time when she can read her book and you yours?

Ok. I will really have to be patient with that and build up slowly I guess. She practically groans when I ask her to read now.
Do the libraries/librarians here actually have time for everyone who goes in there? I would like her to start from the 'scratch'(very simple books to boost her confidence) if possible if that will be any good?

The library may even run some sessions over the holidays it's worth asking.
I would let her pick her own books to read rather than ask for something basic she is more likely to want to read something she chose even if you have to help out with harder words.

Ok Thanks very much mrz. I have someone to show me the library here. Thanks everyone.
Will welcome more tips if you remember something else

Have you tried the you-read-one-page-she-reads-one. Works well with beginner readers.
I have never forced it, if they didn't want to read I never made them, because for me reading is one of life's great pleasures and I didn't want to spoil that by making it a chore. I just took the pressure off, read to myself in front of them, read to them, took them to libraries, bought them books, and made sure it was never an issue, their reading or lack of it.
And it did seem to work, I have 3 very keen readers now.
Another thing I think helps a lot - turn the tv off and limit computer games. it gives more time to be a bit bored and turn to books.

Also, 5 is very young. my 6yo was useless at reading a few months ago, she could barely put two letters together, now she's reading loads, it can happen very suddenly.

If your dds are not keen on reading books yet you could start by buying them comics or magazines on subjects that interest them and take it from there. Non-fiction books are another possibility - eg books about animals (v popular with lots of girls at our school), sport or art. Or books related to a tv programme or film they like.

And I agree about letting them see you read for enjoyment too, even magazines & newspapers if you don't have time to read books when they are awake.

I'd get hold of reading material that isn't ORT. For example I'd buy magazines- something like Sparkle World for a girly girl or the Beano is she's more a tomboy. My daughter has lots of books with characters like Barbie and Disney Princess which motivates her more to read.

Does she like music? My dd started loving High School Musical in Reception and was so motivated to learn the songs that she happily sat with the lyrics and practiced.

My daughter is a girly girl and loved reading books with pink, glittery covers. Our local library had loads and she'd happily read them. Ones with characters like Charlie and Lola went down well too.

The best thing I did was save her "baby" books - especially ones that rhyme or have little text on each page. Even if she's reading bits from memory it's great for confidence and practicing expression.

agree about letting them choose their own books.

I'm not sure if it's an appropriate 'method' now (I'm sure teachers will tell me!) but when I was young one way we were told to find books at the right level was the 'five finger rule'.

open a page and the child puts a finger on a word she can't read. if she uses up all 4 fingers and thumb on her hand, put the book back.

I think once you take the focus off jumping through the levels and place it on enjoyment of reading, you already half way there.

Try reading picture books again - in fact it was around this age that my ds discovered that he could read picture books himself - he really enjoyed it - it provided a good contrast to chapter books. The illustrations in picture books are often very detailed and very funny - take the time to enjoy and talk about them.

Read to your child - The Mr Gum books are brilliant for reading out loud, as are the Harry Potter books...discuss what's happening as you read, the suspense of just reading a few pages every night can be very exciting. I still remember how exciting and magical it was to have James and the Giant Peach read to me when I was 8 years old.

Don't expect them to read aloud for more than 5-10mins a night and if they don't want to do that much don't make a big deal about it - my kids will happily read a book to themselves but are less keen to read outloud for long periods.

Libraries are fab and I've found them enormously useful - however summer time and the reading challenge means a plague of locusts descend on the shelves and there is little left to choose from so if you find the same at your local library revisit middle Sept for a better experience. I always try to encourage my kids to get a good variety of texts, from relatively easy to just a bit challenging, they read what they like from what we have choosen and they get replaced often.

Reading at bedtime is a treat - I read to them and then they read to themselves in bed - if they have mucked about it's lights out straight away, so reading is seen as a privilege not a chore.

See if your daughter will choose a number of books to take home from the library.

Read the first two or three pages of each book to her - if any interest her then she may well continue the reading herself. If you do this a couple of times a week then she may well be hooked.

Try Arnold Lobel Frog Tales, Mouse Tales or Owl at Home. They are delicious and probably at the right level for your daughter - most libraries stock the books.

Good luck!

Thanks so much for all responses... We went to the library today and she picked two books. I didn't push it or try to influence her choice. She loves princesses,fairies and pink! We got home and she read one right away but half way through the other,she started to draw(her hobby) the fairies and I tried to bite my lip not to force her to continue.
I wonder what 5year olds are like... DD has to be prompted to read instructions on her books-puzzles,etc. She is quite a good reader but seems she doesn't want to be bothered. Is this normal or is she quite lazy?

My OH is supposedly a intelligent human being with a degree from Oxford and he still refuses to read instructions! I would say it's pretty normal and not a sign of laziness - dh is a work-aholic.
She read one book and got half way through the other - I'd call that success! Well done for backing off hope your lip isn't too painful.

Awwww thanks so much for that! Have a lot to learn,worry too much especially as 'everything' seems like unfamiliar territory.