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6 Tips to make family reading time more fun!
Reading together with family is very good for kids of all ages. Right from inspiring a love of reading books in young children to helping you connect as a family. Most of all, it’s also really fun! But we know that it’s not always easy to plan a family reading time in advance. So forget thinking about reading as something you need to tick off your list and instead imagine storytime as an amazing show that’s about to begin and the excitement in the kids will naturally follow. Here are 6 tips by Team Zooboo to help make family reading time easier to plan and a lot more fun! Read outdoors Make a picnic out of it or carry your books during garden time. A change of scenery adds some excitement to reading time. You can also spot your favourite natural elements around you while reading. Add a game like – Act it out Adding a game gives a fun twist to reading. Give the entire family a few roles to enact. Let kids get into the character and act it out. They will gain confidence + work on their language skills too. Personalize a storybook Personalizing a storybook in your kids name boosts their curiosity while reading it. Studies have shown higher language skill development, vocabulary development and confidence level in kids who read personalized books. Click here to check out personalized storybooks for your kids. Involve every one Sometimes it is good to let someone else take over the lead while reading. Invite an older cousin, neighbour or grandparent to read stories with you. The diversity in voice modulation and creativity piques a kids interest and involvement. Set up a schedule Make a reading schedule. Pin it up at a place where it is visible to all. Try to add a star chart or some reward upon finishing the required reading time. P.S: Making the reading chart can be a fun art activity too! Reading corner A cute cozy dedicated reading corner helps calm them and sets a routine. It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate. A few curtains and pillows with easily accessible books and good light does the trick. Mind buzzing with new ideas to try out? We hope so! If you’re looking for some books to get you started, browse our bestselling personalised books on a wide range of topics and that too for all age-groups! Explore all the 16 book titles here!
Tips to gear up for back-to-school (+ 3 Valentine’s Day ideas!)
With schools re-opening, there is a buzz in the parenting community on excitement, anxiety, preparedness and a host of different emotions. Are you kids ready to head back to school? It doesn’t hurt to try a few quick tips to get the entire family in motion for the new change! Discover some simple tips + read till the end for some BONUS Valentine’s day ideas! Tip #1 Set a routine Start the day early and set a routine especially during bedtime. Calming kids down with gentle activities like a bath and reading time will help them relax and get into bed on time. Tip #2 Surprise them with a gift to create some excitement Gifts usually make a child look forward to something. And especially an educational gift is a win-win for parents as well children. Gift them a keepsake like a book with their name in it. Try it at www.zooboostory.com and personalize a storybook with their name & character in it. You could also create a simple Photobook with pictures of them going to school before lockdowns or pictures with their friends/teachers or simple family pictures. Go over these books with your kids to get them in the mood to look forward to school. Create your Photobooks here. Tip #3 Involve them Involving the kids in preparing their bags, setting out their clothes helps a lot. It prepares them mentally for the next day and eases their mindset into the new routine. Tip #4 Include extra bed-time stories and cuddles Make your kids feel secure and safe with some extra hugs and books before bedtime. This is a great way to reduce their anxiety or calm their excitement – whichever is the case. Personalize books as per your kid's age & interest here. Tip #5 Limit screen time (especially post-sunset) Screen time post-sunset might make your kid irritable. It would be advisable to switch to a more relaxing activity like doodling, reading or drawing instead of screen-time. Tip #6 Celebrate the first week! Celebrate small wins like getting through the first week of physical school. Order (or bake!) a cake, popcorn and add in a cute gift too. Customize a gift for your child here & watch their eyes go wide in wonder. BONUS: Valentine’s Day is around the corner and here are THREE amazing gifting ideas for your little ones! Gift them something personalized like a Photo Cushion of their favourite character/movie. Customize yours here. A storybook as a gift is always a good idea! Order yours here Print some Polaroids from here & help your kid write sweet messages for your family members as Valentine's Day cards :) Keep smiling & keep reading!
Help your child become a confident independent reader!
Parents often put in a lot of effort to research which book is right for their child at which age. And rightly so, because an age-appropriate book definitely makes the reading experience a whole lot different. But what about the TYPE of book format? Isn’t it important to gauge the readiness of your child to be an independent reader? The answer is YES it is! Picking the right book format – softcover or hardcover - and transitioning to another can be tricky for some kids. That is precisely why we at Zooboo offer a wide choice in the type of book you’d like for your child. Let us guide you on which Zooboo book format is best suited for your child! Reading WITH parents Recommended: 5.5”x5.5” HARDCOVER When your child is reading along with you, they are probably a little young. The hardbound pages help them gain the confidence to flip a book on their own. And since you’re mostly reading to/with them, the 5.5”x5.5” works perfectly fine at this stage. Starting to read with AND without parents Recommended: 8”x8” HARDCOVER You can gradually transition to the large size book as they will start to want to read parts of the book on their own so the larger font & illustrations will help here. Since you can start leaving them alone with their book, it is important to keep the book in hardcover format. Transitioning from hardcover to softcover Recommended: Upgrade to a ‘waterproof LUSTRE’ finish To make this jump as accident-free as possible, you can upgrade your softcover books to a premium waterproof paper with a lustre finish. This paper quality will provide your child with a lot of sturdiness while they flip pages on their own with or without supervision. Transition to becoming an independent reader Recommended: 8”x8” SOFTCOVER While you will always continue to read together with your child, you can gradually encourage your child to read books on their own, in their free time. At this stage, you can move to a softcover book BUT we advise a 8”x8” book size. The bigger page size enables kids to move pages freely. You can always opt for the premium lustre page finish for this size as well. Independent readers Recommended: 5.5”x5.5” SOFTCOVER Your independent young reader can now definitely graduate to a softcover book format without any hesitations! The 5.5”x5.5” size is handy, easy to carry anywhere and lightweight enough to make it the perfect travel companion. All Zooboo books have rounded edges for child safety. In general, hardcover books work well for younger kids and for those who love to carry books on-the-go. Softcover books are fine for older kids and for those looking for an inexpensive option! Zooboo recommended size for ALL kids: 8”x8” HARDCOVER. Because afterall, a book in which your child is the HERO of the story should be preserved as a keepsake forever right!? :D @vandita.momandmore
