Reading doesn’t always require a “book”. Incorporating play is always a great way to learn, so try out some of these sidewalk chalk games. You can get a new reader reading. For a pre-reader, this can build vocabulary and help them learn to identify colors, shapes, and letters.

IMPORTANT: Make it FUN. Don’t make it seem like work. Kids do their best “work” while playing. If your child isn’t interested, let them lead the game their way. Try different things!

What you need: Sidewalk chalk, preferably of many colors. A bean bag or other similar object that you can toss and that doesn’t bounce. In a pinch, you can fill a balloon or a small Ziplock bag with sand, sugar, or salt.
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Pre-Reader Game Ideas:

• Play copy-cat: Draw a letter slowly; ask your child to copy your actions with their chalk.
• Draw letters of the alphabet on the sidewalk or driveway. Call out a letter and throw a bean bag to that letter.
  • If your child is VERY new to letters, start out with only a few letters to build confidence. Put them in alphabetical order. Help your child identify them and play along too. “Mommy is going to throw the bag to the letter A. Let’s see if I can do it!”
  • If your child is more advanced, draw the full alphabet in random order.
• If your child is ready for easy sight words, draw those words on the sidewalk. Have your child toss a bean bag to them.
• Use the bean bag toss game to identify shapes, numbers, or colors. For example, you can draw different shapes in different colors. “Throw your bean bag to the yellow triangle.”
• Write the names of colors in chalk. Use white chalk to write WHITE. Use yellow chalk to write the word YELLOW. Et cetera.

Raising readers can be hard. What worked for big brother might not work for little brother. What worked for your daughter last year might not work the next. That’s why having many options at your disposal is important. Here is my first list of tips to help encourage reading.
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• Receive visits from the book fairy. Check out this blog post for more information.
• Design a book scavenger hunt. Click here for my previous blog post about this.
• Incentivize it. Here are some examples, but the sky is the limit. Children have an affinity for quick wins so start low and later move on to bigger prizes for more time. This will make them feel accomplished. Or you can do a tiered approach (every 10 books gets a fruit snack, every 25 books gets a $1 at Dollar Tree, but if you hit 250 books we are going to the beach!)
  • Special mommy & me date after 25 books read
  • Ice cream cone after 25 books read
  • New book after 30 books read
  • Earn $1 at Dollar Tree for every 20 books read
  • Small piece of candy for every 10 books read
  • Six Flags after 6000 minutes
  • Build-a-Bear after 1000 minutes
  • Science Museum / zoo after 1000 minutes
• Be a good role model. Read plenty of books. Talk highly of books. Tell them about what makes you enjoy reading. Talk to them about an exciting book you just read.
• Read with and to your child often. Even if they can read on their own, children love that special time when they are read to. You can read books above their reading level to them, for example. 
• Join your local library. Visit often and make a big deal of them getting their very own library card. Plus, it’s free! AND they often have STEM classes, story times, and other events.
• Explore books. Not every reader is the same. I tried to get my kids to enjoy the books I loved as a kid, but they don’t. Are they really into dinosaurs? Get them a couple of dinosaur books.
• Try out graphic novels. Some might call them ‘comic books’, but you might get some eye rolls from your tween or almost-tween. ;) These books are incredibly useful for cultivating a love for books and are hugely popular right now. Parents, myself included, swear by them. My oldest went through a lull and has now found graphic novels, and she loves them! Publishing giants like Scholastic know just how lucrative these books are. My daughter picked out three just today while we were out shopping. Instead of a toy, she got books (and she's excited about it!!!! Eeeee!)
• Explore other options. Sometimes a novel approach can reignite a reader's passion. 
  • Try out children’s magazines. Many children's magazines not only have stories inside of them, but they can provide your child with anything from STEM activities, to puzzles, to tasty kid-friendly recipes. 
  • Try the e-book option. We love e-books, especially when we are on the go (e.g., when you are waiting at the dentist office, offer an e-book to pass the time instead of a game on your phone).  I download a lot of free e-books from The Fussy Librarian. You can sign up on their website to receive free e-books in any genre you prefer, including children's and middle grade books. Authors often use this method to build an audience, promote their book, and to get the VERY important reviews needed to be successful. 
• Leave notes. Have a family bulletin board? Leave your child notes there. Leave notes in their lunch box. Leave a silly sticky note on their bathroom mirror. When my daughter was just beginning to learn to read, she would LOVE getting notes from me so she could practice her new skills. 
• Follow instructions. This is a clever way to get them to read. Work on a craft or building project that requires you to follow instructions. For example, Kiwi Crate offers children’s craft box subscriptions and each comes with instructions. Alternatively, if you have a little chef, have them help you with the recipe by reading the instructions to you.
• Make it a habit. Whether it’s over breakfast or just before bedtime, make it a habit they can always count on.
• Chat with your child. Some children just need exposure to more words so their vocabulary can expand.
• Always have a book on hand. When you’re in the waiting room or waiting on big sister’s gymnastics practice to be over, hand out books. As I mentioned above, I always have plenty of e-books on my phone just for these moments, and I encourage my kids to read over playing any form of mindless game (seriously, why is there a game to dress up cats like they just got back from the 80s?) Keep them on hand in the car and for trips. We go camping a lot, so we always have books with us.
• Watch for events. Watch for reading and book signing events at your local zoo, library, bookstore, etc. You can often meet the author or enjoy numerous other activities with other children at these events.
• Reduce screen time. If you restrict screen time that allows for more time for reading and other beneficial activities.
• Write. Writing is an important step in development. Writing by hand also helps readers learn new words, how to spell, and more. Check out this blog post about writing books.
• Pair it with activities. Many books and publishers offer activity sheets, color sheets, and more on their websites. For example, you can check out Scholastic on Pinterest for plenty of activity sheets for their best-selling books. You can also find some activities on YouTube, such as related STEM activities. Or, if you read a book about dairy cows, why not go on a family field trip to a dairy farm.
• Replace music with audiobooks from time to time. Instead of listening to music some days, try out audiobooks. We’ve listened to Peter Pan, the Secret Garden, and even an audiobook about dinosaurs and fossils. Harry Potter is also a big favorite (and my absolute favorite Harry Potter media).
• Talk to an expert. If your child is struggling and you’re not quite sure what to make of it, talk to a teacher or other professional. Your child may need glasses or need to be assessed for dyslexia and other challenges. There are numerous resources, including school reading specialists, who can help.
• Find their reading level. Make sure you are picking books at or slightly above their reading level. If you aren’t sure what their reading level is, check with their teacher.
• Speaking of teachers… work closely with your child’s teacher for tips and any patterns they have spotted at school.

​Let me know in the comments which of these tips work well for your little reader.

Check back soon for Part 2! Happy Reading!