How to cultivate interest in reading (2)?

Further to my earlier post dated 9 July 2008 on above subject matter, a reader has shared her frustration in getting her daughter to even sit and listen for a minute. I have some suggestions which perhaps could get the little ones to at least sit and listen for a minute before they run away to something more interesting :-)

1) The reading environment should be quiet with as little distraction as possible (keep all toys away, anything which will distract them. If you have a helper, get her to sit in to help "control" the kids)

2) Most kids (assuming aged between 2 to 6), would enjoy role-playing. Before you start reading a book, perhaps you could tell them that you are pretending to be her school teacher, Ms.XXX. They tend to be more attentive :)

3) If the book describes a dog, you could imitate the sound of a dog "whoof whoof" and make them laugh. Try to be more interactive and involve them in your story telling. I know most of us are not trained in this area and it will be an uphill task for us too :) but it is worth a try!

Well, try it out and let me know if it works and gradually they would enjoy more of your story telling and they would voluntarily sit and wait for you :) (hopefully) :)

Happy Reading!