Some What, When, and How of Helping Children Build and Maintain Reading Stamina
From mindset to timing to curated scaffolding -- let's do it.
Today’s newsletter is 1) too long for email!! So, please open it in your browser or the Substack app. It’s easy, I promise. And, it’s also 2) the second of a two-part series on reading stamina. If you missed part one, check it out here:
As always, I want you to know that if you have any questions, feel like I’ve missed something, or just want to dive deeper, you can always reply to this email or leave a comment.
I’m grateful you’re here. The children in your life are lucky to have you, too. And if you’re like me and really believe that it’s important for all our children’s peers to be deep thinkers and thoughtful readers (so they can push one another to be better thinkers and doers and people), then I’d love for you to share this newsletter with someone who can help the cause 😉
Our focus today is on practical ways you can help your children improve and maintain their reading stamina. My intention is to provide you with a good list of ideas that you can take, leave, or adapt to fit your family. As always, we have to remember that every child is different. What works for one of your children might not work for another. And that’s totally normal and fine and good!
I also have to say building stamina – when your children are reading on their own – can only happen if your child has been taught how to read properly and is getting necessary support for any reading/processing/learning struggles or differences. If you’re unsure whether or not your child needs extra support – or actually can read – please reply to this email with your questions. You and your child deserve answers and action!
Let’s start with mindset.
Please model a growth mindset when it comes to reading stamina (and always, actually). Your child might not be able to read independently, without distraction for more than a few minutes. It doesn’t mean they can’t or that they won’t. It means that they have not yet built the endurance to read for longer periods of time.
I’ve noticed in my extended family that it’s so natural for everyone to label our children as “smart” or “athletic” or whatever from the time they are about six months old. I generally dislike the “don’t do this” variety of advice, but I’m making an exception right now. I also need to share that I am more guilty of this behavior than I’d like to admit, but I’m also really trying to remind myself and everyone else that it’s not fair for our children if we keep defining who they are so simply when they are so young (or ever?)! Please listen to me yell out of your computer that your child can be bookish and athletic and social and into STEM and outdoorsy and a million other things! Don’t accidentally make them internalize that they aren’t a reader because they learned to walk at 8 months and have never been interested in sitting still. PLEASE?! It’s just not true!
And now, as I exhale, it’s time to talk about pressure.
The tricky thing about pressure is that what feels motivating and fun for one child is overwhelming and pressure inducing for another. Notice – and help your child notice – what motivates your child when it comes to reading, what excites them, and what makes them freeze.
Some children might do really well with a goal to read a 200-page novel with no pictures. They might love to figure out the best way to get there. They might be really into tracking their progress. If they truly enjoy it, let them follow that path!
Other children, however, might do better with a more gentle approach. With these children, we might skip (or be quick and strategic when) talking about goals and progress and stamina. We will lean into interests and what feels good. We will say things like, “I noticed you read for 30 minutes today. Tell me about it!”
If you have more than one child, and they are each on their own journey to build or increase their reading stamina, I encourage you to talk to them about how their paths will look different because their brains respond differently. Nobody is better or worse; it’s just important to pay attention and understand how your own brain reacts, and what it needs to learn – and to feel good in general.
Please note that if this feels like an overwhelming amount of work, you can a) reply to this email and ask for help, or b) think about how you can include your whole family in this work. I don’t want this to feel like an overwhelming amount of work, though. Low effort steps are often the best ones to take.
Find the Right Time of Day
Help your child find the time of day where they have the right amount of mental energy to focus on reading.
Example: My emerging reader wants to read all the time. But, at night, when he’s practicing reading on his own, he has a harder time. He gets frustrated and makes mistakes. His brain has been learning all day, and he’s tired! We decided (together, but with a lot of guiding questions from me) to move his reading to the morning. Read alouds still happen at any time of day!
Book Baskets for All Ages
I said it before, and I’ll say it again: I love a book basket. For my 18-month-old, we have a book basket in the kitchen, in his room, and in the playroom (separate from bookshelves!). These baskets have books he can pull out and look at on his own. When he makes his way to the book basket, I stay close but don’t engage. If time allows, I let him read for as long as he wants to. Independent reading stamina starts right there.
As he grows, like we did with his older brother, we will adapt to his wants and needs.
Book basket ideas:
For the youngest pre-readers, I suggest board books and interactive books. (Basically, be mindful of ripping!) You’ll note in the picture above that my 18-month-old has a few non-board books in his bedroom basket. He’s shown us he can handle it, and I’m not going to be mad if he rips accidentally. (It’s how we learn!)
My young toddler and I are very into any of Ingela P. Arrhenius’ interactive board books:
The sliders are totally engaging!
The felt flaps are beyond brilliant!
Everyone loves a pop-up!
And, I mean, how could we not?!
I’m also a big fan of getting “regular” picture books in board book format. We love classics like Madeline and The Story of Ferdinand.
For bigger pre-readers and emerging readers, I suggest rotating a handful of books in and out of your book basket(s) every few weeks. Here’s your chance to really follow your child’s lead!
Include books they can read on their own and books they can’t read on their own, but that they can still enjoy looking at on their own.
Include magazines, art books, and poetry books, too!
For fully independent readers, book baskets are a reminder that reading is fun, available, and can fill spare minutes. Wait, but I thought we were talking about stamina?! Yes! We are! But stamina makes no sense (to me) if we don’t enjoy reading and see it as something we can do with eight minutes or eight hours to spare!
Poetry books: I really do believe that poetry is for everyone, and we just need to find the right poetry for us. Consider choosing a new kind of poetry book every few weeks or month until you find one that sticks.
Short story collections, anthologies, or treasuries are fun additions to book baskets.
Nobody is ever too old for picture books. Include old favorites, new discoveries, and anything in between.
Do you know about Unruly? It’s an imprint of Enchanted Lion Books and publishes “category defying picture books for adults and teens.”
As much as we want to GUSH about a book to a child or teenager, sometimes the gushing leads to them wanting to do anything but read it. Be the cool cucumber you are and just leave a book you know they’ll love for them to discover. Sit back, see what happens, and change your approach if you need to. We are patient; we are chill (but, please, let’s never have anyone tell us to chill).
Magazines can build background knowledge that can help them comprehend/enjoy fiction in a deeper way. I love Honest History and Illustoria for this, but there really are so many great magazines for kids out there. Leave your family’s faves in the comments.
Read Alouds + Parallel Reading
Start a read aloud and let your child know that they can continue reading it on their own at any time. You can start a new book to read together, or you can read your own book alongside them.
Do not underestimate the power of reading alongside your child without your phone.
Related: Sometimes, I set a timer for myself when I want to allow myself x minutes of reading without interruption or before I know I need to start something new/ leave the house/ whatever. It’s a reframe that is helpful for some younger readers, too: It’s not that you have to read for twenty minutes; it’s that you are allowed these twenty minutes to think about nothing but your book. Everything else can wait, and you don’t have to be in charge of checking the time.
Scaffold the amount of text on a page — and in the book!
Sometimes, the amount of text on the page is a big barrier to building reading stamina. It’s like how some people can go out and run five miles, even if they’ve never done it, some can build their way to five miles over time, and others are just too overwhelmed be the feat to even believe they could try.
Here’s some good news: The way you scaffold your child’s journey (or they scaffold their own way) to long chaptered, text-only books is a choose-your-own adventure experience.
FYI: When it comes to making a plan, choosing books, and responding to trial and error — I’m happy to do the heavy lifting for you (did you know I do literacy consulting / parent coaching?). Schedule here or just reply to this email with questions.
Here are two possible paths to consider (for reading aloud or independent reading!):
Picture books —> Text-heavy picture books —> Novels in verse —> Short novels
Graphic Novels —> Illustrated Novels —> Novels with short chapters
Go All In on Interests: Genres, Authors, and Inquiry
Sometimes, it’s just all about the right genre, the right author, or the right subject. You can also combine genre, author, or inquiry with a choose your own adventure scaffold I suggest above!
Find the right genre:
For readers who have a hard time with stamina, I’ve often found that mysteries and dystopia help hook them! But maybe you have a sucker for coming-of-age stories
Become an author completist! Read everything by a single author.
Kate DiCamillo is incredibly prolific, but she’s an example of an author who has early chapter books (the beloved Mercy Watson!), illustrated novels (like Flora and Ulysses), and non-illustrated novels (like Ferris)!
Similarly, Mac Barnett has plenty of picture books and illustrated and graphic novels (Mac B, Kid Spy; The Terrible Two; First Cat)
Roald Dahl is also a good one: Quentin Blake’s illustrations really complement his stories, and you can start with something shorter (like The Enormous Crocodile; The Giraffe, the Pelly, and Me; or Fantastic Mr. Fox) before working your way to something like The BFG.
Use inquiry:
Find books about something they’re really interested in or want to know more about.
Look for multiple books that might answer a question, like “What was it like to live during WWII?” or “How does where or when we live impact how we see the world?”
I love all of this and think it extends far beyond reading stamina to any lifelong habits we hope to set kids up for success with. It's disheartening to me how many times I've seen homeschoolers advise each other to just tell kids math is non-negotiable and restrict access to everything else until it's done. That's not how we build a love of broccoli, reading, movement, math, or anything else! Strewing is great, but modeling is greater. There is nothing my kids love more than watching me engaged in productive struggle with difficult math (except maybe curling up next to each other and silently reading together).
Great advice in here! When I first launched my newsletter almost 5 years ago I surveyed hundreds of parents. It was startling to see the disparity between the percentage of parents who want their children to read voraciously and the percentage of parents who read 0-1 books themselves in a year. This can not be overstated …“Do not underestimate the power of reading alongside your child without your phone.”