Reading continues to be a huge focus for us as a school community. As well as making full use of our beautifully refurbished library we have invested heavily in improving stocks of books. For the third year we have published our own SJF Book List for 2023-24. It contains a range of books from both new and traditional authors and illustrators with the aim of exciting and engaging our children, and get them reading. Book areas in classes and book nooks around school are also being updated and this year we hope to introduce new book nooks into the playground and outdoor learning areas.
According to Dean Boddington (@Misterbodd 2020) though reading is great, reading for pleasure is greater! Sharing stories at home is a fantastic way to encourage children to read for pleasure!
We hope that some of these tips will help your family’s reading journey.
Reading doesn’t have to be expensive either. Local libraries have a great children’s selection with lots of new exciting books! They even offer audiobooks and eBooks online (
https://www.borrowbox.com/).
What are the benefits of Reading for Pleasure?
The Reading Agency reports that is a more powerful factor in life achievement than socio-economic background.’ If children are encouraged to read for pleasure, encouraged and supported by their parents/carers, they are more likely to become readers for life, increasing their life chances significantly.
Some tips to support reading for pleasure at home include:
- taking time to read as a family all sorts of different things together
- reading aloud
- creating your own reading dens/areas at home and/or in the garden
- trying a selection of different books available for children to read such as newspapers, magazines, audio books, eBooks, recipesand graphic novels (comics and comic-like books)
- joining the local library
- joining in with summer reading challenges
Please take note of the children’s school library days, and share the books they bring home. Encourage them to discuss their choices and to share a little detail about why they liked or disliked it when they read it.
