For The Love of Reading:
Nightly Reading 
with Your Child

— by Julia Gibson-Mancini, Grade 6 Teacher

Spending time each day reading with your child not only has academic benefits, but also assists your child’s emotional wellbeing. However, for many families, this can become a frustrating and unpleasant time for parents and children alike.

As parents, we feel pressure to implement the latest decoding strategy or push our children in hopes of improving word recognition and fluency. While these are important skills, these responsibilities are often best left to your child’s teacher or tutor, particularly for students with LD’s.

You have permission to make reading with your child a pleasurable experience!

For some families, this may mean that the child is listening rather than reading. That is okay! Successful daily reading should:

• foster an interest and desire to read
• introduce children to a wide range of topics and genres that peak their interests
• be pleasurable for all involved
• be an opportunity to spend quality time with your child

Listening To Your Child Read

When listening to your child read, offer encouragement and do not dwell on mistakes. If your child is struggling with a challenging word, it is okay to tell them the word. Avoiding frustration and conflict while maintaining a positive, encouraging attitude will help make daily reading a pleasurable experience for everyone.

When to contact the teacher?

Students bringing home lists, passages and books from school should be able to accurately read about 95% of words. If this consistency is not being attained, assist your child with challenging words. Then, connect with their teacher and communicate your concern. This allows the teacher to adjust the reading level to ensure success.