Many parents find that while their children are happy to spend hours kicking a football around, watching TV or listening to music, they don’t always show the same enthusiasm for reading and writing.
But the hobbies that children love can be a great way to get them reading, writing and chatting. You’ll also find that they can naturally help to boost language and communication skills.
Read these five tips on how to make the most of your child’s passion.
Exploring outside
If your child prefers getting muddy in the garden to staying indoors, you can use their love of the outdoors to chat and learn. Spotting plants and wildlife can help with memory skills and teach them new words.
Explore our outdoor activity ideas.
Music
Learning lyrics can be a fun way to read and improve memory. Challenge your child to learn all the words to a new song. If they like music, ask them to write their own lyrics!
Explore our songs and rhymes!
Finding out
Lots of children enjoy reading factual books to learn more about the world around them. If your child enjoys learning about the past, they might like Horrible Histories, which enables children to learn about history in a funny and entertaining way.
Explore our non-fiction activities!
Getting creative
Following instructions and recipes to make something or expressing an idea can help boost literacy levels.
Explore our Reading Recipes page!
Football and sports
Reading newspaper reports, learning players’ names and talking about matches can all help improve reading and communication.
Explore our football activities!
