Book Nook Ideas For Your Kids : To encourage them to read more
How do you encourage kids to read more? Many ways : surround them with books, gift them books, bring them to libraries and bookstores, read them bedtime stories, and be the best example : show them that you love reading books too.
There’s of course the book or reading nook. It’s a special nook that will encourage your kids to read at home, it should not be a place that they associate with something that happens when they get into mischief. It has to be a fun place where they can have their own adventure whether from the stories that they read or from stories that they create themselves. An age-appropriate reading nook will make it easier for your children to develop the love for reading and learning.
For toddlers and pre-school aged kids, your reading nook should have padded floors and walls. You can have a book rack with all his favorite books. Make sure that your reading nook furniture pieces do not have sharp corners. Better yet, you can have throw pillows on the floor where you and your little one can cuddle up for reading time. Some reading nooks have puppet stages or doll houses where the characters of the storybook adventures can come alive.
Book Nook Ideas For Your Kids : get inspiration from bookstore reading corners
Table of Contents
Each According to Age
Older kids who can read by themselves should already have an organized reading nook. They would need to have their own reading chair. Parents should still have their own spot in their child’s reading nook to allow him to be with his child when he wants to have company while he reads. For families with more than one child, having a small table with a few chairs around can accommodate kids who want to spend reading time together.
Teeners are a little bit of a challenge to build or designate any space for. Some teeners would opt to isolate themselves in their rooms while they read and do other things. You can still find a way to give your teen his own reading spot while at the same time giving him some privacy. He can actually have his nook inside his room. Or, if you don’t want him staying in his room all the time, you can give him his own corner in the den or build him a comfortable reading perch out in the yard.
Make it Colorful
Unlike adult reading nooks, children’s reading nooks are often more colorful. Relaxation is often not the goal when kids go to their nooks. Mental stimulation and stirring their imagination is the goal of reading. A children’s reading nook is therefore often a fun and exciting place. When they have such a space where they can let their imagination run wild, kids will surely go from one book to another without much coaxing.
Make it Comfy
A reading nook could have sofa fit for your little one. It could be a space by the window with a fitting foam to make sitting or lounging comfortable. Put pillows, stuffed toys, and other things your child finds cozy. Ask her or his help to decorate and arrange the nook. There’s probably a poster that he or she relates well to, you can use this as a backdrop.
Big Windows and Appropriate Lights
When finding a spot for their own reading nook, make sure that enough light will make it easier for them to read. That’s why my ideal reading area is a low window sill with soft pillows to sit on. You can install reading lights, which they can use when the sun has set.
Giving Kids Their Own Reading Nook Begets Responsibility
When kids are given space, make them realize that they are responsible for keeping it clean and in order. They might even develop their own way of organizing things. Putting books according to author, color, genre, are some of the ways I arrange books – kids could pick this up, too.
Book Nook Ideas For Your Kids
A book nook doesn’t have to extravagant. If you were into the planning of your home this time, including a dedicate area in your child’s room or the living room is a good idea. A full window with a big enough sitting area or a small corner bed is the dream
Tepee
Tepees are practical to place in a kid’s bedroom corner. It offers seclusion or security at any time of the day. At night, you can give your child a flashlight and his favorite book to enjoy. You can also put a cushion so that he/she will be comfortable in case he falls into dreamland later.
Book Nook Ideas For Your Kids : Tepee
Indoor Hammock or Swing / Hanging Chair
If there’s enough space in their bedroom, invest in a hammock or hanging chair. There are also egg chairs, pod chairs or basket swings that act like a recluse for a child once inside. These furniture/additions can be both fun and a place for your kids to recess.
Book Nook Ideas For Your Kids : hanging chair/Swing
Lounger
A lounger is very comfortable to lie down on. It’s somehow shaped to follow to the natural shape of the body, especially the spine that has to be curved. Lying down on a lounger eases lower back pain and makes reading more enjoyable.
Book Nook Ideas For Your Kids : Lounger
Blanket Pile
Get blankets of different thickness and pile them up. It doesn’t matter if it’s the floor or the loft, or the built-in cabinet by the window.
Book Nook Ideas For Your Kids : Lots of Blankets Corner
Cozy Chair
Find a chair that you can sink in, move around in, and just be content having a book to get lost into. It could be a single-seater sofa, or a round chair that’s oversized and big enough for a child (or you) to sleep in.
Book Nook Ideas For Your Kids : A Cozy Chair
Window Seat
A smaller cabinet by the window can be made into a seat with fitted cushions. Throw in some pillows and blankets and it’s the perfect lighted nook for reading.
Book Nook Ideas For Your Kids : Window seat
Bean Bags / Pillows on Floor
Bean bags are also comfortable pieces you can flop into and enjoy a book. Choose one with fillings you won’t be irritated with, and one that’s also comfortable. A giant pillow or cushion will also do.
Book Nook Ideas For Your Kids : Bean bags, pillows on floor
Reading is very beneficial to children. Here are some : reading improves their vocabulary, makes their imagination go anywhere, helps their concentration levels improve, develops their creativity, develops empathy toward other creatures, and they gain a deeper understanding of their surroundings and the world. It is crucial to encourage kids to read and there are many ways to do so…what worked for you and your kids? Let us know in the comments!
