July is National Children's Book Month. I only found out about it when I saw a reel from Mighty Magulang. She's one of the accounts I follow because she's like the ultimate Historical Marites here in the Philippines. Her witty ways of narrating history specifically appeals to my marites side.
How do people celebrate National Children's book month? To be honest, I really have no idea. In our household, it feels like all months is national children's book month. Some parents have problems when they pass by a toy store in a mall with their kid. We on the other hand, find more trouble when we see National Bookstore, Booksale, Fully Booked on our weekend walks. A happy dilemma, I must admit. I have planned on raising my daughter to have that love for books, and I'm glad she does.
A lot of parents mostly complain that their kids like mobile phones and gadgets more than books. Their kids feel like reading is a form of punishment, if not a boring task. I'm going to share some techniques I found effective in helping develop that love for books and reading. But before I do that, let me share some of our book hauls - at least those that I was able to document.
Last July 1st, we were able to go to the Big Bad Wolf at the PICC. This is an annual book sale where bookworms find amazing deals on books. I always look forward to this event although this is the first time I went personally. Most of the time, my introvert self gets the better of me so I send my list to my super extroverted book loving friend and have her buy them for me. I love the books, the crowd, not as much.
This year, my kid wanted to see it in person. So off we went to the tent to gather books. To see that much books in one space is so overwhelming. I set a budget, we did not go over it, but man, we still got a lot of books! Some for free reading, some for studying.
Whenever we go out to the mall, one of the things my kid look forward to is her time to browse through the books in National Bookstore. I don't let her choose a lot from there though because most books are too pricey. The best time we had was when we chanced upon the free 2 kilograms of books if you have a 500 peso worth of receipt from the shops at the mall. My kid couldn't wait to read the books, she was already digging through the bag while we were waiting for our ride.
How did my kid fall in love with books? Whenever I go out to meet with friends, (which she always feels against) she would ask that I bring her a book when I get home. That's why when I met up with some of my HivePH friends, I had to buy a book from the museum gift shop.
Even before my kid was born, I have already read books to her. Aside from me reading What to Expect When You're Expecting, I also read a lot of children's story books for her while she's in my womb. I guess those were her first experiences with books.
Books everywhere! One way to enthuse children to read books is to have it readily available for them. When it's easy to grab the books, it's easy for them to just sit and read. Kids will find all the excuse in the world to not read books, especially when there's a lot of distractions. Having books ready for them to read anywhere in the house removes all those excuses. it can get out of hand though if you have a lot of books.
My daughter and I are practicing a habit of putting things back to where they belong - a place for everything, everything in its place is our motto. Our house right now has lots of piles of books all over. To remedy the mess, we opted for book baskets. We baskets in the bedroom, near the dining room, by the computer table, at the sofa, and of course, our main bookshelf which is just another organized pile of books.
If we want our kids to love books, it is our duty as parents and grownups to curate books that we are sure to be interesting and engaging for kids. In our study time, I make use of living books to keep the energy, curiosity, and inquisitiveness of children up. During our free time, I give her books that not only is educational, but is also entertaining. My kid learned more about Egyptian culture through the Egyptology (The search for the Tomb of Osiris) book I bought online. Likewise, she also learned more about the Philippine folk stories (the stories of Aponibolinayen, Aponitulao, etc) through the Philippine Folk tale I got from gutenberg.org.
Our kids eat whatever we feed them. This is the same with books and gadgets. The more we distract them with gadgets and toys, the more they get used to easing their boredom through mobile games and such. Similarly, if we serve them well curated books from carefully selected authors and publications, their brains eat up all the knowledge and influence from those books. Like what our speaker told us during our homeschooling training, when we let our kids read books in our homeschooling, our kids are being taught not only by us, but also by those authors from long ago. You are not teaching them Shakespeare, he is speaking to them directly through his stories. Hans Christian Andersen is one of your kid's teacher in Literature.
Even when you are not a bookworm yourself, try to show the same energy and enthusiasm when your kids tell you the stories about the books they read. When children find someone who pays attention to them, and shares the same passion they have, they tend to dig deeper on that interest. If you can read the story they're reading, much better. But if you don't have the time, simply pay attention - and I mean really pay attention - ask questions about what they told you and just keep the ball rolling. I know sometimes kids have too many stories, but well, they're only kids once, why not take the time in developing their interests in reading and learning.
Sharing is caring. My daughter has lots of books that she does not read anymore. Also, not everything I buy her catches her attention. She still finishes them, being the bookworm that she is then gives me her reaction afterwards. Some books she is very sentimental and couldn't let go. There are books in her give away pile. It feels good to give some books away. It's like parting from a friend that kept you company for months and years. Giving away books is also important lest we will be stuck with tons of books we don't read anymore. Once we decide which ones to give away, we choose the recipients very carefully. Our only condition to them is that they also love them the way we did. Except of course for those kiddie books that will go to little bookworms who literally gobble the books.
Nowadays, with the advent of technology, it is a challenge for parents to get kids to love reading. Though getting kids to fall in love with books may seem to be an enormous challenge, with enough patience and a nudge to the right direction, kids can easily turn into book lovers. The right books, right timing, and encouragement from the parents will help get them the feeling of happiness and passion for reading and learning new things. Kids are naturally curious and has lots of questions. The more we feed them with knowledge from books, the more they grow and the more they know, the more they will care for the things that they are passionate about. So go on ahead, buy that kiddie book. Read along with them, read aloud to them. And let kids tell you how they understood the story. You'll be surprised with what they have to tell.
*The 360 video on the cover photo is courtesy of @panoramicmemories, the BBW2023's official Video booth. Check out their page: Panoramic Memories. I have their permission to post the video on my blog. All other photos above are mine.
