With school starting back up, you may already be worrying about your student when it comes to reading. Whether your child is going to school to learn the basics of reading or they already know how to read, there’s lots you can do to improve the way your child feels about reading. Of course, there are many programs to help your child become an expert reader. All in all, programs can cost an arm and a leg especially if you’re looking for a tutor or professional program. This may end up hitting your budget hard, but there’s lots of other options that are a whole lot easier on your budget. With these ten tips, you should be able to get your little one on the right path to reading with joy in no time at all.

1. Technology
These days, technology is a huge deal when it comes to education. You can easily find lots of software to help your little one become the reader you’d love them to be. Generally, this software doesn’t cost a fortune and you can find many off-brands that offer the same learning techniques as the big names. These programs are designed for children learning how to read as well as those who may want to improve their reading skills to help with grades and reading enjoyment. Software isn’t your only option when it comes to these programs. You can also find lots of assistance when it comes to apps on your phone or tablet. Most apps are totally free, but even the apps that do charge won’t leave you feeling the burn of the price. Online games are also a great option for children. Parents can find many resources online to help out too.

2. Library
Many families often overlook one of the greatest resources of all; the library. The library is a great place to go when you are looking for books, but it can also come in handy with inspiring children to read. Some libraries even offer reading programs to help children who may be struggling with learning to get the basics of reading down. This is a great resource for children who may not be able to afford a program to help them achieve success. Of course, story time and other activities offered at the library are also designed to help children find a passion for stories and reading. One of the best ways to utilize the library is to go as a family though. If children see you looking at books and reading, then it is going to become a part of normal life for them. This, in itself, will help children feel the importance of reading even at a young age.

3. Read to Them
One of the first steps in teaching your child to read is to read to them. You can start doing this as early as pregnancy to help cement the habit and keep it going until your child is old enough to read to you. Reading to your child helps develop a love of stories and words from an early age, which expands vocabularies and inspires your child to pick up a book and read earlier. This will make the daunting task of teaching little ones to read a lot easier as they will feel like it is a natural part of life. Reading in excited voices is a great way to keep children engaged in books as they move forward to the schooling years. They will immediately associate books with entertainment, which will help them keep away from the TV for longer periods of time. Once your child gets the basic aspects of reading then they will have a whole new world opened up to them, which should help make the habit of reading something that sticks with them for the rest of their lives.

4. Ask Your Child to Read to You
Like reading to your child, asking your child to read to you will help inspire them to read more. When your child begins to read their first words, you can easily ask them to read to you a couple of times a day. May it be their homework sheets or a simple book you picked up for them, doing this will make your child feel incredibly special. Encouragement as they learn is key and nothing will work better than giving them your undivided attention as they share what they’ve learned. You may find having your child read to you to be relaxing too, as it is a time of the day where you can all sit together and listen to the progress your child is making. With a little reading out loud every day, your child will gain confidence that is sure to help them move on to larger books and eventually read silently to themselves without having to be told to.

5. Flash Cards
While your child is learning to read, nothing will help quite as much as flash cards. You can purchase these in stores, but you can also make them yourself using index cards. You can use your child’s vocabulary list from school to start out, but as they progress you may want to add some of your own words to the mix to give them a little extra to study. This activity can be carried out on the weekends and school breaks too, in order to help make the information more concrete for your child. Flash cards won’t just help boost your child’s reading skills and vocabulary, it can also help them become great spellers depending on how you operate the cards. Not to mention, beginning your child on the flash card method early on, will help them create great studying habits that can help them become successful in school until they graduate from college or graduate school.

6. Make it Social
Most kids love to be around other people, which poses a problem with a solitary activity such as reading. There’s a few ways you can make reading more of a social get together though. For starters, you can have the entire family sit down once a week and talk about what they are reading. This allows everyone to share their feelings and talk about books like an important and interesting topic. Another idea is to start a junior book club. You can ask friends, family and neighbors to join in to make reading fun for everyone. During the book club meetings, you could create crafts and snacks based on the book of the month to make the story come to life even more. You should also add in exciting games and discussions about the book. This should help your child feel more engaged and they may be willing to read more simply because they look forward to the book being discussed and celebrated with friends.

7. Interest Based Reading
One major problem with getting kids into reading is the fact that they aren’t interested in some of the books that the school sends them home with. This can cause children to instantly find reading a bit boring, which may make them feel like they don’t want to do it. If you take your child to a bookstore and let them pick out books, then they will instantly feel like they are getting what they want. This will even help them build new interests as they span out and try new things. Not all children are interested in fiction though. For these children, you can always find books on sports, science or history. This should help them feel like reading has something to offer them, which will keep them passionate about their new found hobby.

8. Play Games
There’s a lot of games you can play to help your children get even more out of their reading process. For starters, games like scrabble which encourage spelling are perfect for those starting out. They even have games like Scrabble designed for younger children. Another great concept is coming up with your own games. You can easily turn games like tag or charades into something based on your child’s favorite books. Mix and Match games as well as Memory or Pictionary are a breeze to transform into literature based games too. If you’re low on ideas, then you can find a wide assortment of crazy games online that are based on specific books or even reading in general. You can even have kids tell their own stories as a game. This is sleepover favorite for many kids and helps teach the art of the story at a very young age.

9. After School Programs
If your student is struggling to keep up with the class, then you may qualify for an after school program. Many schools offer these to students who need a little extra help, so you might want to ask your child’s teacher if such a program exists in your school. Some schools will even allow children to work harder on specific subjects during certain periods of the school day, which may make your child feel less overwhelmed with the extra work. If your school doesn’t offer such a program, then don’t fret. There are many professional facilities that aim to help children become a success in reading. Some programs will even offer scholarships which will help ease the burden of helping your child learn to read efficiently. You may have to do a lot of research to find just what you need, but in the end it will be worth it when you see your child smile when they finally have the art of reading down.

10. Reward Programs
Some children work on incentives, so try to find as many as you can to get your child working hard to reach their goal. Many schools utilize their own rewards program now because it is proven to help students get on the right path to reading. You can easily talk to your school about their program to see if there is anything you can do to help out. Children will respond positively if they see a parent helping out. Outside facilities also offer such programs. For instance, the library is known to keep kids reading through the summer. Pizza hut is also a big donator and they offer children a free personal pan pizza after so many books have been read through their Book It program. With a little research you can probably uncover many programs, so follow what your student needs to become a success. You may even utilize your own rewards program with incentives like snacks, extra screen time and even chore free days.

Making sure your child feels confident when it comes to reading is one of the most important things you can do for them. Their education will flourish with strong reading skills and they will feel learning is fun and exciting. With a few simple and frugal tips you should be on your way to keeping your child happy as they tackle the world of reading and find their own personal success.