Reading is an essential skill for life. Your child should have the opportunity to read daily.

• A love of reading begins at home.

• Your child's success at reading starts before he/she starts school.

• Good oral language skills help develop good reading skills.

• Talk to your child and let your child talk to you.

• Make Time For Reading - Turn off and Tune in

• Good readers surround themselves with books.

• Repeated reading helps develop fluency.

• Encourage re-reading of books, of chapters, of pages, of paragraphs.

• Use dictionaries together to check the meanings of new words and to develop vocabulary.

• Parents are powerful in their influence.

• Let your children see YOU reading and enjoying books. Read a newspaper at home, pick up a magazine in a waiting room etc. Show that reading is an enjoyable activity.

• Rewards carry messages; give a book as a reward now and then.

• Book choice is a strong motivator for readers young and old. Allow your child to pick out books at the local library or bookshop. Shannon Branch library has an extensive selection of books, membership is free for children.

• Make books important. Ask your child to talk about the book he/she is reading and take an interest in what s/he reads.