Reading At Home

Reading at Home

Reading together at home is one of the most powerful ways to support your child’s development. Even a few minutes each day helps children build language, communication, imagination, confidence, and early literacy skills.

Sharing books should feel enjoyable, relaxed, and special. Children learn best when reading is fun and connected to warm relationships with adults.

Why Reading at Home Is Important

Research shows that reading regularly with children helps to:

Develop speech and language skills
Build vocabulary and understanding
Strengthen listening and attention
Support memory and concentration
Encourage imagination and creativity
Develop early reading and writing skills
Build emotional understanding and empathy
Support school readiness and future learning

Reading together also helps children feel safe, connected, and valued through one-to-one attention and shared experiences.

The National Literacy Trust highlights that children who enjoy reading are more likely to achieve well across all areas of learning.

Useful guidance:

Top Tips for Reading at Home

Read Every Day

Even 5–10 minutes each day makes a difference.

Short, regular reading times are often better than long sessions.

Re-read Favourite Books

Children learn through repetition.

Reading the same stories again and again helps children:

Predict language
Join in with repeated phrases
Build confidence
Deepen understanding

Make Reading Interactive

Talk about the pictures and story together.

You could ask:

“What can you see?”
“What do you think will happen next?”
“How is the character feeling?”
“Can you find the dog?”

Follow Your Child’s Interests

Choose books about things your child enjoys:

Animals
Vehicles
Dinosaurs
Fairy tales
Families
Space
Nature

When children are interested, they stay engaged for longer.

Use Different Voices and Expression

Children love hearing stories come alive.

Try:

Funny voices
Sound effects
Actions
Facial expressions

This supports attention, language, and enjoyment.

Let Your Child Join In

Encourage children to:

Turn pages
Finish repeated phrases
Point to pictures
Retell parts of the story
Talk about what they notice

This builds confidence and communication skills.

Create a Calm Reading Routine

Reading before bedtime or after nursery can become a comforting daily routine.

A cosy, quiet space helps children focus and relax.

Talk About Stories After Reading

You could:

Draw favourite characters
Act out stories
Retell the story together
Sing rhymes from the book

These activities deepen understanding and language development.

Reading for Babies and Toddlers

Young children benefit from:

Board books
Sensory books
Rhyming books
Repetitive stories
Songs and nursery rhymes

At this stage, reading is about enjoyment, bonding, and language exposure — not reading words independently.

Signs Your Child Is Developing Early Reading Skills

Children may begin to:

Recognise favourite books
Join in with repeated phrases
Turn pages independently
Talk about pictures
Pretend to read
Recognise familiar words or sounds
Retell stories from memory

All children develop at their own pace.

Great Books Build Great Conversations

Reading together is not just about learning to read — it is about talking, listening, imagining, laughing, and spending time together.

The conversations around books are just as important as the story itself.

Useful Websites for Families