One of the things that brings me most joy in motherhood is the act of reading to my kids. The connection that happens between a mom and her child when they dive into story books together is something so precious, nothing can really replace that bonding time for me.
Ever since reading The Read-Aloud Family book, by Sarah Mackenzie, I've become more intentional about connecting with my children through books. My little ones love the warmth of sitting on my lap for a good story and I love seeing them nurture a love for reading.
Something I get asked frequently is: How do I get a two year old and a four year old to sit through a story? Believe me, it used to be a challenge for me too. That's why today I'll be sharing ten ways that you can foster your child's interest in books and also everything we do to keep our kids interested in books + how we get them to listen to a whole story or a chapter of a children's book. Might I add without tears or having to try too hard?
P.S.: Below I'm also sharing links to other blog posts that are full of fun ideas for storytelling time!
- Introduce Felt Board Stories
I first saw this idea at our local library and as soon as I saw how interested my son was in interacting with the story I knew I had to have Felt Stories Sets at home too. The first set we ever got was for the Very Hungry Caterpillar Book. Ever since introducing the Felt Board, my kids have become obsessed with every book written by Eric Carle. They recognize the characters and his unique art, they've learned to appreciate how the story develops and simply love making it come to life through adding the felt pieces to our board. I'm so glad I invested on this 🙂
I purchased our Very Hungry Caterpillar set on Etsy, but it seems the shop has closed, but if you search for "The Very Hungry Caterpillar Felt Board Story" you will find several options to choose from. And you can also find other beautiful story sets, made with felt, throughout Etsy. Just type in "Felt Board Stories" and you will be overwhelmed (in a good way) with all of the listings that will pop up.
If you are the crafty type, you can simply download the PDF patterns for such sets and make your own characters at home. My good friend, Christina, has an Etsy shop where she sells instant downloads with PDF patterns and instructions. I purchased the pattern for the bee above at her shop.
Recently I found this super cute shop, also on Etsy, that has a huge variety of printable patterns. I just bought one of her downloads and I'm currently getting ready to make each one of The Gruffalo's book characters using felt. Check out this tutorial for DIY Felt Board.
// Links:
The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Felt Board Story - Physical Product)
The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Pattern Only)
The Gruffalo (Felt Board Story - Pattern only)
Large Felt Board Tutorial by At Home With Natalie
2. Use Characters Figurines and Sensory Tray
I was delighted to see this set from Yellow Door at our local library. This set of the Billy Goats Gruff wooden characters was such a fun way to help my kids interact with the story. Levi used the figures to retell the fairy tale over and over again, I'll be sure to bring one set home every week!
Using play-dough and props to create scenarios has always been a good invitation to reading around here. My kids love Small World Play, so this way of storytelling is always a hit! I have a recipe for homemade play-dough here and you can also find other ideas for sensory activities in the links below.
// Links:
Billy Goats Gruff Wooden Characters By Yellow Door
One Duck Stuck: Muck Sensory Play by Pre-K Pages
Three Billy Goats Gruff Invitation to Play by Little Worlds
Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site Play Dough Kit by Mama, Papa, Bubba
3. Offer an Activity While Reading Chapter Books
Our choice for L's first chapter book was My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett. The chapters are short, the vocabulary is rich, and the story is full of adventures! We read one chapter every night after dinner for a week. Some days he would simply sit still and listen to a whole chapter attentively, but we've had times where he was a little more active, so in those times I would introduce an activity to keep him busy while I read to him. I learned this from other homeschooling moms and it's worked really well for us. You wouldn't think he wasn't paying attention to the story, but he actually was! He retold us the story the way he comprehended it.
// Links:
My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
Tips on How to Start Reading Chapter Books to Preschoolers by Read Brightly
A Short Guide on Reading Aloud Chapter Books to Preschoolers by DaddyRead
4. Use Story Cards for Retelling and Sequencing
This is great for developing sequencing skills! The set we like to use is also from Yellow Door, but I also selected some free printable cards from other websites:
// Links:
Tell Me A Story Sequencing Cards by Yellow Door
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Story Sequencing by Twinkl (Free Printable!)
DIY Nativity Story Sequencing by Rainy Day Mum
The Snowy Day (Activities & Crafts) by Mama Jenn
Gruffalo Story Sequencing Cards - Free Download by Tes.com
10 Story Sequencing Cards Printable Activities for Preschoolers by Homeschool Preschool
5. Prepare a Snack for Storytelling Time (or Poetry Tea Time)
Popcorn, peanut butter sandwiches, apples or granola bars. My kids love snacks! Every Wednesday our local library hosts a small book club called Lunch Bunch, there we get to bring our lunch and listen to stories. My son looks forward to this activity every week!
At home I like to offer them a snack in the afternoon, or sometimes late evenings, and invite them to sit with me to read picture books. Some families like to use this time of the day to do Poetry Tea Time, I love that idea and might start doing it soon. You will find a few articles on this topic below:
// Links:
Poetry Tea Time Doesn't Need to Be Intimidating by Grace, Grow, Edify
Poetry Tea Time - Where to Start by Homeschool Here
6. Create Crafts and Activities Related to the Book
I'm not the crafty type, but ever since I started preschool at home with my four year old, I've been pushed to make more crafts with him. Our Homeschool Curriculum, from The Peaceful Preschool, is Literature and Project Based, so I couldn't really get away with not being at least a tiny bit crafty. It's a little bit out of my comfort zone, but anytime we make the effort to help the story come alive through little projects is always a success. I don't have any example - made by me - to show you in this section, however I'm so thankful for bloggers that took the time to put amazing blog posts together. Check them out below:
// Links:
Paper Plate Little Red Hen by Glue to My Crafts Blog
Very Hungry Caterpillar Crafts and Activities by The Activity Mom
Hole Punching Hungry Caterpillar Activity (Free Printable!) by Books and Giggles
Where The Wild Things Are Counting Game by Fun Learning for Kids
10 Free Printable Crafts for Children's Books by Learn, Create, Love
7. Reading and Baking - Bring Story Books to The Kitchen!
This is one of my favorite things to do! To read a good picture book with the kids and then bake something that was part of the story. The smell of cinnamon and baked apples, or blueberry lime muffins, brightens everyone's mood in this house. Last fall we read How to Make An Apple Pie and See The World and I knew then, that was the beginning of me hunting for new titles that would encourage us to mix cooking with reading. "Kitchen is the tastiest place to learn" is what experts say!
I am sharing my list of books below, along with some good blog posts on the topic.
// Links:
The Apple Pie That Papa Baked by Lauren Thompson
How to Make An Apple Pie and See The World by Marjorie Priceman
Dragons Love Tacos by Adam Rubin
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff
Blueberries For Sal by Robert McCloskey
The Duchess Bakes a Cake by Virginia Kahl
Little Nino's Pizzeria by Karen Barbour
Pancakes, Pancakes! by Eric Carle
The Popcorn Book by Tomie dePaola
Peanut Butter And Jelly - A Play Rhyme by Nadine Bernard Westcott
Kids in The Kitchen With Picture Books by Our Journey Westward
Kids Cook With Books - Book Club by What's Cooking With Kids
Cooking & In The Kitchen Books for Kids by The Crafting Chicks
8. Use Story Puppets
I love this idea, I selected some of my favorite inspiration below:
// Links:
The Very Hungry Caterpillar Inspired Finger Puppets (Great for teaching Butterfly Life Cycle)
Little Red Riding Hood Free Finger Puppets by Easy, Peasy and Fun (Free printable!)
25 Adorable DIY Hand Puppets to Make With Kids by Laly Mom
9. Listen to Audio-Books in the Car
A great way to get my kids interested in stories is to play audiobooks in our long car rides. I use Audible for all of our audio books and can't recommend it enough! We listened to Little House in The Big Woods during the winter, and we also have all of our favorite picture books downloaded into the app. We have completely switched from listening to the radio or children's songs to simply listening to stories. It's actually very relaxing for me! hehe
// Links:
The 40 Best Audiobooks for Kids and Families by Feels Like Home Blog
10. Display Your Books in an Attractive Way (& Practice Reading Aloud Daily)
When I first heard this suggestion from Sarah Mackenzie, author of the book I mentioned before "The Read-Aloud Family", I knew I should have this practice at home. I don't know why it took me so long to start displaying our books this way, we've been reading so much more during the day now. My kids love coming to this corner to grab a book for us to read together. Having them at the child's height and on top of a shelf really encourages the child to explore the books.
I rotate the titles weekly and seasonally, I like having different stories that connect them with each different season. It's a way to teach them about the world around them and to nurture a love for nature.
In the beginning of the year I'd set the intention to read at least five story books a day. I thought that was a good number, nothing overwhelming to follow through. Some days we get to read even more than five, which shows me intention and practice do make a difference in a child's daily routine. I've seen the fruits of these simple efforts and I hope this can encourage you to include reading aloud in unique your family rhythm. It's all so worth it!
And if you've read this far, wow! Thank you so much for sticking with me as I prepared this post for you. English isn't my first language, so you may have seen some gramatical errors here and there, I apologize for that! I'm still learning 🙂
I would love to hear your thoughts on this article and any extra tips that we could add to this post. Please leave your ideas in the comments!
Warmly,
Bru Masalin
