When you give your child something new to do, they can have a variety of reactions to it. They may completely hate it and count down the seconds until they can stop doing it or think it's interesting but not really want to do it again or think it's interesting and like to do it a few more times, but nothing too involved on their part, or really like it and can't wait until their next chance to do it again.
With reading, I'm sure we all want our kids to have that last reaction because we know how much more successful they can be in life if they are first, able to read, and second, well-read as that helps them form opinions and stances on many different issues in life, be it politics, education, religion, hobbies, etc.
One way that I get more interested in something is if I can actually get involved with it in a hands-on way. I learn best when I can participate. No matter how many times you explain something to me verbally, I will not fully get what I am supposed to do until I can see it and then do it myself. Since boys are typically visual/kinesthetic learners as well, I think they fall into the same category as me. Involvement can be a huge key in getting your child interested in something...including reading.
With that said, I want to turn your attention to something you may or may not have heard about: Living History also known as Reenacting. This is an amazing way to get involved in learning. It is all about history, but in a very real and hands-on way.
Recently, I had the opportunity to join up with a civilian reenactment group that was attending an event hosted by Knott's Berry Farm in Southern California. The group I was with, Oak Street, portrays residents of a street in a small town somewhere in North Carolina during the Civil War. Each resident creates a persona and during the event they act out their persona not only to each other but to all the spectators that visit the event. Through this persona, they are able to teach others what it would have been like to be a civilian during that time. This is a great way to get kids interested in history.
So how do you use reenacting to get your child more interested in reading? Well, if you go to an event as a spectator and they show an interest in it, encourage them to learn more about it after the event is over. Don't let it be a one-day thing.
Go with your child to the library to pick up books on something they saw that was interesting. Perhaps a civilian had a telegraph machine and demonstrated how it worked and what it was used for. Maybe this will spark something in your child's mind or imagination. Maybe this will get him interested in learning more about how people communicated during the war. What a great topic to look up in the library and discover more about together!
A really good question I heard a spectator ask a reenactor was, "How often would you hear from your relatives who were fighting in the war?" To which she answered, "I am lucky if I hear from my brother once a month. It greatly depends on if there is someone coming to our town who has seen my brother on their journey and was able to get a letter from him. We can not always depend on the post for reliable communication." Can you imagine?
Would that spectator have had this question if he had not been at that event? How interested would he have been with the answer if he did not feel like he had actually time traveled back to an important time and place in our history?
Involvement can spark interest, interest can spark questions, and questions can spark learning. Help your child find something they can get involved in and watch how this snowball of learning grows.
