If you are a parent looking for a way to bond with your children as they grow, a screen-free bonding activity you can do every evening is sharing a book. Chapter books are perfect for older kids, and many come in a series format so you can enjoy the stories for a long time.
Many children’s classics are adaptations of bedtime stories that the authors told their own children, such as Alice in Wonderland and the Hobbit, and these could be a good place to start. Classics boost literacy and familiarize kids with older language. Short stories, anthologies and poems are also engaging to read aloud and wordplay helps build understanding of phonics and rhyme. Shel Silverstein writes great children’s poetry compilations such as Where the Sidewalk Ends and he formats the text with illustrations in interesting ways. Nonfiction is another option, which makes it fun to learn new topics at home. Letting kids choose their own nonfiction books based on their interests will help them figure out what subjects they like to learn. The library has a wide variety of books about history, animals, athletics, and everything in between.
Reading aloud is a way for kids to explore what genres they enjoy most and this will encourage further interest in books. Sharing what you like is a great way to bond and validating a child’s interests is important for their self esteem. Parents can share books from their own childhoods based on what their children like, and everyone will discover new favorites!