Reading is a joy and an end in itself. Reading is not a task to be checked off our list. Reading is a gift, for the child and the whole family.

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Why a Reading Ritual?

A ritual is a way of doing something; a way that is different and unique. It’s a way to create consistency and routine. It sets the tone for the activity or the moment. It brings the participants of the activity fully into the moment.

The reason to create a reading ritual is exactly that, to create a routine, make reading time a specific and almost “sacred” part of our day, and set the tone for the full enjoyment of the activity.

This is not to say that reading cannot be unplanned, unstructured, and spontaneous. It certainly can and should. Whenever a child wants to grab a book from the shelf and find a cozy corner to read, she should have that freedom.

What I’m suggesting is to create a ritual around reading or story time, a fixed activity of your day or week, as a family. That way, we don’t rely on the “spontaneous” moments alone, we carve time and space for it.

Why Setting a Reading Ritual as a Family?

I’m also suggesting planning, creating, and cultivating this routine activity together as a family. A reading ritual is a perfect opportunity to gather, calm our bodies and focus our minds.

Having parents, young children, and older siblings read together is a great way to model and support one another, at their different levels of reading proficiency.

Reading time could mean independent reading, group reading, story-time, or change day by day or week by week, to make the experience varied and even richer.

For individual reading, you might set a time to share insights or the moral of the story. Group reading may involve having a brief discussion at the end, and for storytime may be fun to pick a theme for the week.

The planning stage would open a wonderful conversation about books and stories we like and would like to read or hear more of. The creating stage would allow all members of the family to contribute a special element or idea.

How to Create Your Reading Ritual?

To plan and create your reading ritual as a family you may follow or find inspiration in these steps:

Step 1: Propose and get everybody excited about the idea!

The first step is to have everybody onboard. For this, you as a parent must lead the way and get excited first. You must be committed to making it work and see the great value it offers your child, but also, yourself.

Step 2: Get everyone together to brainstorm.

A great way to get everyone excited is to involve them in the process. Ask everyone to meet and bring some ideas of what a fun and relaxing ritual for reading or story time would be.

The first thing to decide would be the space where the reading activity will take place. If you don’t have a reading corner somewhere in the house, this would be the perfect time to set it up.

Step 3: Look together for some inspiration online.

You can have your phone or tablet to look for some ideas or inspiration. Here are some sites you might want to browse together:

• Five Fun Family Reading Ideas
• 10 Reading Rituals to Get Kids Excited About Books
• 25 Family Rituals That Foster Connection
• 41 Family Rituals That Teach Responsibility, Kindness, and Compassion

Everyone should be allowed to contribute a key piece or element of the reading ritual. This would make it meaningful and will give each member of the family a sense of ownership.

Step 4: Set up your reading ritual and write it down.

You want to make it official. Once every element of the ritual has been agreed to, write it down. You can visually add the steps of the ritual to your reading corner or the area of the house where the reading or story time will take place.

Together you can design a special poster or use a whiteboard or chalkboard, if you have one, to display your special ritual and keep it visible. This will also help new family members or friends who might join later.

Step 5: Keep flexibility in mind, adjust and enhance.

As always, we must remain flexible, adaptable, and curious. As the reading ritual and reading activity gets going, ask all family members for feedback. You may even alternate this “checker” role among you, to give the younger family members an opportunity to take the lead.

A few days or a week into the new reading ritual check with yourself and everyone else: Are we having fun and enjoying our reading or story time ritual? Is there something we could change or add?

Reading Ritual Ideas

Time/Frequency: What would be the ideal time for us to get together and read or share a story? Would we commit to our family reading ritual daily or weekly? What would be the best frequency to accommodate our different schedules and school/work responsibilities?

Example: We’ll meet in the living room after dinner on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. We’ll read one story aloud on Sundays, and pick our own book to read during the week. We’ll block 45 minutes for this reading ritual.

Place: Where would be the ideal space to hold our family reading ritual? Do we already have a reading area or reading corner? The idea is not to have everybody spaced out around the house but in one single room or space together to read, share and model reading and appreciation for books and stories.

Senses/Mood: What elements can we incorporate to make our reading ritual more special? Can we light a scented candle or have a diffuser with a calming scent, like lavender or sandalwood? Can we use a little bell to invite everyone to gather in the reading space? Can we have relaxing music or soft ambient sounds playing in the background as we read or tell stories? Can we make and share a soothing cup of tea, or a warmed beverage of choice to enjoy while we read?

Example: We ring the small meditation bell and invite everybody to gather around the big sofa in the living room. Someone lights up the lavender-scented candle and turns on the soft ambient music “forest sounds” and we all take three deep and slow breaths. We gather our books from the reading basket, grab our pillows and sit comfortably on and around the sofa.

Modality: Are we going to read in silence or aloud? Are we going to share one book for group reading or let everyone read on their own? Are we going to read from a book or tell stories we know by heart? Are we going to switch between these options daily or weekly?

Example: Every week we’ll have a day for story-time, and each of us will get to share a story we know or read from a favorite book. Every other day we’ll each read in silence. We can propose a discussion of what we are all reading at the end of the week as well.

Theme: Are we going to read books about a special theme or subject? The themes could be selected seasonally or from a list of personal favorites.

Example: “This month we are going to be reading our own books. Every Sunday we’ll read or tell a story about thanksgiving, in preparation for Thanksgiving dinner.”

Another Way to Organize Your Reading Ritual

You may also think and create your reading ritual in terms of before, during, and after. How are you going to get the reading or story time started, what is going to happen as we read or listen and how are we going to close or end that special time together?

Before: Tidy up the reading space. Prepare tea or light up a candle. Turn on soft music. Invite the bell to sound, to call everybody to gather. Pick up your book and pillow and find a comfortable place to sit. Take 3 full, deep, and long breaths.

During: Read in silence, aloud or share a story according to the modality chosen for the day or week. Have a timer or have someone responsible to check the time and sound the bell when the set time for the reading ritual has ended.

Respect the reading time of all readers, including yourself. If you must get up to use the bathroom, get yourself some water, etc, do it without causing too much disruption or movement. Also, it’s another sign of respect to silence all phones and leave them a few feet away from the reading area.

After: Once the bell sounds again, signaling the end of the reading ritual, everybody who is ready should start getting up and putting pillows and books away. The music might stay on for a while longer. Candles and teacups must be cleared away. Finally, taking three full, deep, and slow breaths we can give thanks for another wonderful reading ritual.

Share your Family Reading Ritual ideas with us @thelittlebookstoretx