Most of us are aware of the multitude of benefits of daily reading, both for children and adults, from a larger vocabulary to increased emotional intelligence and empathy. In 2018,听The New York Times聽published a study about聽聽and the effect on behavior later in life. Scholastic recently shared a list of the聽physical benefits of reading. However, especially without the structure of your normal family routine, it can be difficult to make sure your loved ones are spending enough time with books instead of the screen. The team here at 百花视频 has put together some ideas to help adults and children incorporate more reading into their daily lives.
Virtual Book Clubs
Avid readers all over the world are creating virtual book clubs during this time to share聽ideas and motivate one another to make the time to read. We love聽; each month, the actress and entrepreneur selects a book with a female lead and readers are invited to join the community via聽,听听补苍诲听聽to discuss their thoughts. Another one of our favorites is聽, hosted by Emma Gannon,听bestselling business author and聽one of聽Forbes’聽30 Under 30 2018.聽聽is a great way to connect with authors via Zoom to discuss the books they’ve penned; the group offers several talks per week with various authors聽and will continue to as long as we remain at home.
If you’re interested in hosting聽your own digital book club for your friends, read through this聽list of聽聽before you get started.
A Flexible Book Club for Kids聽
We adore Literati!聽The subscription service sends聽5 curated聽age-appropriate books to your family per month, plus a few fun surprises.聽Only purchase the books your children love and send the rest back. The service has club options for children 0-12 years. Literati also offers聽聽of themed boxes of books and personalized stickers for children of all ages.聽 Themes range from history, art and science to dreams, animals and wisdom.
Personalized Storybooks聽
If you’re looking for special gift for a child in your life to encourage reading, we love the idea of a personalized picture聽book. One of our favorites is聽The Great Alphabet Chase, which allows you to personalize the name and appearance of the lead character to match the recipient. Another great option is聽; Wonderbly allows you to customize the book for your child’s name – each name creates a different story, making it a great gift for siblings who will each receive a unique adventure featuring their name.
Incorporate Reading into Daily Activities
Now is a good time to try to incorporate reading into daily activities the children may be helping with around the house. Ask聽your child to read a recipe from a cookbook聽as you make dinner; we love聽听补苍诲听The Young Chef Cooking and Baking聽books.
Start a Family Book Club聽
It’s easy to start a book club that works for your whole family! Take turns each picking a book and make a plan on when to meet and discuss it. If time allows, make a special snack related to the book or dress up as the characters. If your household has children who are too young to read, make a habit of reading the book aloud to them each day. Don’t forget to include grandparents or other family and friends that may be interested in participating via Skype or Zoom.
We suggest picking a book, like聽Harry Potter听辞谤听Stuart Little, that has been reimagined as a film; read the book first then watch the film together and have your child consider what was similar and different in聽the book. Ask your child what they might have done differently.聽.
Travel the World聽
Books are a great way to teach your children about different cultures. CNN published this wonderful list of聽, including聽Ludwig Bemelmans’s聽Madeline,听Jeff Brown’s聽Flat Stanley听补苍诲听Brian Selznic’s聽The Invention of Hugo Cabret.聽We suggest doing something to mark the end of each book and further discuss聽the place the book portrayed; perhaps cook a dinner聽inspired by the聽cuisine of the featured location, listen to music from the region or simply look at photographs of well-known monuments online together.
Add Some Drama to Story Time
We’ve mentioned this in a previous newsletter but it is worth bringing up again as it has received a great response from children.聽聽allows parents and caregivers to read from their child’s favorite print book while the app follows along and plays聽music, spooky sound effects, and hilarious character voices at all the right moments. Simply download the app, select from hundreds of popular children’s titles and start reading. Titles range from classics such as聽Guess How Much I Love You听补苍诲听Goodnight Moon聽to new favorites like Barack Obama’s聽Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters聽and B.J. Novak’s聽The Book with No Pictures.聽The app has just launched a small selection of Spanish language titles, with more coming soon.
Further Resources
Finally, we recommend utilizing聽Scholastic’s tools for parents, including these lists of聽6 Smart Strategies to Boost Reading Fluency听补苍诲听9 Creative Ways to Read as a Family.
As always, we’re here to assist with all your household staffing needs during this challenging time. Both childcare and cleaning professionals are considered essential workers and we have implemented strict protocols to make sure your family is as safe as possible.聽Contact us聽today to learn more.