The new year is a time for new beginnings. You might be the type who uses the new year to set resolutions or turn over a new leaf. Or you may see it as the time to continue good habits but with a new goal to work toward. For example, you may enjoy reading with your child on occasion, but the New Year could be an opportunity to set up a reading challenge with a specific focus. This will give you both some structure to follow and help foster a greater love of reading.
Reading offers countless benefits. It exposes students to a broad range of words, builds their critical thinking skills, boosts their reading comprehension, and helps them navigate complex emotions. What’s more, making reading part of your family’s routine helps you bond, share interests, and spend time together.
Here Are 7 Ways You Can Enhance Your Reading Routine in 2025
1. Visit Your Local Library
Depending on how enthusiastic a reader your child is, you should consider making a trip to your local library every couple of weeks. Libraries are an incredible free local resource for you to take advantage of. You can get new books for your child to devour without buying them, and they can choose from many books.
For pre-K readers, a library visit is an incredible opportunity to develop preschool reading skills. That’s because libraries often have community events like story time or rhyme time, which little ones love. Most libraries also have dedicated preschool corners full of cozy cushions and age-appropriate books for you and your child to share together before you choose a couple of stories to take home.
The library isn’t just fun for your kids, though. There are lots of grown-up resources to explore, too. You can borrow grown-up books or check out your library’s collection of newspapers or magazines. Libraries also have ebooks or audiobook catalogs that you can borrow from. You set a great example for your kids when you model a love of reading.
Make library visits memorable by having unique library tote bags that you use only for your shared library trips. A library tote also gives you a place to put the books when you’re ready to return and swap them so they don’t get misplaced in the house.
2. Have Regular Read-Alouds
Reading aloud presents many benefits to young readers. It helps develop their reading proficiency and boosts their confidence as they hold the attention of someone they value. Setting aside 10 minutes daily for this activity will help your child progress significantly.
You could make this activity more fun by seeing if your child can perform different voices for different characters, or you could take turns reading page by page.
It is also important for kids to be read to, and this doesn’t have to happen at the same time that your child reads to you. A lot of parents like to read to their kids at bedtime because it is calming and relaxing. Being read to can reduce stress levels, which will lead to better sleep for your little one.
When children listen to stories, they are practicing being active listeners. This is where the listener focuses on what is being said to them (rather than planning their response) and tries to understand the speaker’s perspective. The ability to be an active listener helps children have more meaningful conversations, build trust, and resolve conflicts.
3. Make Reading Real
For some children, reading can feel very abstract. They can connect with their reading by bringing something from their books into reality. There are so many ways to do this, and it doesn’t have to cost a fortune, but it does link what happened in their book to their real life in a fun way.
If your child is reading about dinosaurs, consider visiting Atlanta’s Fernbank Museum of Natural History to see the dinosaur skeletons and prehistoric fossils. If they have enjoyed a story like Paddington or Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, you could bring the food to life by serving marmalade sandwiches or meatballs and spaghetti inspired by their favorite story.
4. Create a Reading Area
Like the reading area in your local library, you could create a cozy reading nook in your home where your child can curl up and enjoy their book. This space does not have to be big or fancy, but it should be quiet and away from other distractions like a TV or a tablet.
Could you stack up some cushions and put a unique reading lamp in your child’s closet? Do you have wasted space under the stairs that you could make comfy? Even a blanket fort could become their reading nest. A special space can make reading feel like an adventure.
5. Reward Reading Milestones
Reading rewards are a perfect tool for any reader, whether they are reluctant to pick up a book or race through books at breakneck speed. When you set goals together and establish appropriate rewards, students can experience a strong feeling of accomplishment.
Everyone has clear expectations if you work together to set the targets and pre-agree on the rewards. For example, when a child finishes a chapter book, they can choose dessert, or if they read 10 books, they can pick out a treat at the store.
If your kids are a little older, there are lots of apps that you can use together to keep track of their reading progress. Kids could also use these apps to create their own book wish lists and rate their reading to show what they like or dislike.
You could also set yourself a reading challenge (with rewards!) to join in the fun. If you relish a challenge, maybe aim to read a book a month or try for 52 reads in the year.
6. Gift Books for Special Occasions
Gifting books shows how highly you value reading. These books become treasured keepsakes for the recipient, and books are appropriate gifts for all ages, from birth to adulthood.
A children’s first Bible or illustrated collection of Bible stories with a heartfelt note makes a beautiful birth or christening gift. Toddlers can practice their sensory development with textured board books. You can support your child’s reading in kindergarten with stories that will help their emotional development, like The Worrysaurus or The Kissing Hand. You can still help your older kids with their reading by gifting books that match their interests. If you’re not sure of the right book, your local librarian or bookseller would love to help you choose one.
It doesn’t have to be costly to gift books, either. Look out for good-quality books in thrift stores or on local selling pages. Libraries often have book sales where they sell off old library stock for a few cents a book. It could also be special to pass on your cherished copy of a favorite childhood book when your child is old enough to enjoy it.
7. Model Reading for Pleasure
Your kids will take note when they see you reading for enjoyment. Talk to your children about what you are reading. If appropriate, you could buddy read a book with older children and share your thoughts as you go. You could also make family reading time part of your routine so that everyone spends time reading together rather than having screen time.
Good Reading Routines Last a Lifetime
At the start of this year, let good reading habits be a routine you stick to. And if you’re looking for a good school reading program here in Atlanta, contact the Academy of Scholars where we prioritize phonics-based, evidence-backed reading programs.