Ways To Cozy Up To Reading This Fall
As a teacher, I remember September in the northeast being a month for new beginnings and a time when it was still a bit too warm to show off your new back to school autumn clothes. Since having Lucy, I’ve fallen in love with “local summer” – that time in September when all of the tourists return home and residents get to enjoy the beaches before summer is really over.
This year, the fall season has moved in very quickly! As we officially welcome the arrival of the fall, we have already been acclimating to fall weather for a few weeks now – chilly morning temperatures, 70 degree highs, and shorter days. Here in the Snyder home, we’re ready for it! Fall is here!
With a new season comes the element of change. During fall, we settle into back-to-school routines, we prepare for fun autumn holidays, and we pack our schedules with seasonal activities like apple picking and harvest festivals.
With all of the activity, it’s easy to lose sight of family reading time and the literacy goals we’ve set. As parents, guardians, educators and caretakers, it’s important that we maintain our reading routines so that our littlebits prioritize reading in their lives and lay the foundation for solid literacy skills. So why not make it fun and relevant? Continue reading for a list of ways to incorporate the magic of fall into your reading routine.
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Bundle up for some outdoor reading.
Have you switched out your summer wardrobe for your fall favorites yet? It’s time to bust out those sweaters, boots and scarves so that you and your littlebit(s) can enjoy some reading time outside. As the leaves change colors, the great outdoors provides a beautiful backdrop for reading. Picnic in a local park or set up in your yard. Don’t forget to bring your own book to model independent reading and multiple books to keep Littlebit engaged. Remember to layer up, bring some extra blankets, and if your outdoor space allows it, fire up the fire pit. We stay warm during the colder months with this one.
Use warm, fuzzy blankets and pillows to create comfortable book nooks inside the house.
Did all of the blankets around the house get used for building forts over the summer? It’s time to wash them up well and use them for cuddling up with good books. Try picking out the coziest ones – think soft materials like wool, fleece or cashmere – and designating them for reading only. Here at the Snyder house, we are huge fans of weighted blankets for comfort, like the one that Jed got me for my birthday – best gift ever! The extra weight takes the chill off and contributes to relaxation – perfect for fall reading! To make the reading experience feel more exciting for littebits, create a comfortable book nook with cozy blankets and pillows in a space in your house that is specifically for reading time. Get creative ideas for book nooks with these suggestions from Pinterest.
Add pumpkin-flavored treats as reading time snacks.
Pumpkin spice is my favorite part of the fall season! I love pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin spice lattes – you name it! I especially love my pumpkin snacks when I’m cozying up to a good book, and your littlebits will appreciate this comfort food while reading, too. If you tend to lean more towards healthy options and enjoy doing some cooking and baking, you can make healthy pumpkin flavored alternatives. Check out these recipes from the Food Network.
Read about the events, traditions, and holidays of the fall.
Fall is the perfect time of year to do some nonfiction reading with your littlebits. You can read about the science of the fall foliage or the reason behind shorter days. You can read about the history of the many holidays that occur from September through December. When you want to read some fiction, check out this list from Scholastic to see how some of your littlebit’s favorite characters spend the fall season.
Use fall inspired incentives to keep your littlebit invested.
If you’re working on early literacy skills with your littlebit, you may be using incentives to keep him or her invested. Kids love stickers, pencil erasers, and whozits and whatsits galore. You can use fall-inspired incentives like these assorted fall leaf stickers or these whimsical apple erasers to keep up the motivation when your budding reader masters the AT Family or adds another book to the Littlebit Reading Log.
It’s time to embrace the change of season, but that doesn’t mean that your reading routine must be disrupted. Add to the fun of fall by incorporating the beauty of the season into family reading.
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