I missed it! That's what you want them to do...

This morning I had a chance to sit and read the paper. It felt as good as the long hot shower I took to get rid of that campfire smoke smell!

Then I thought - wow! That is what we want our kids to do when they don't get to read. To miss it. To feel that it is as much a part of the day as brushing their teeth.

How do we do that? Make it a part of every day, in some way.

Whether it's reading together, silent reading, or reading to each other...make it happen. Carve out time.

Remember - provide material for them. Don't depend on them to have a book in their backpacks...reluctant readers might have "forgotten" it, or have selected a book that isn't just right.

Be their "librarian" - go without them -- spend time picking things out. My boys love the element of surprise and new books. Bring them home and put them in a special place or a basket. For my boys, I have a bin in the family room. It is easy for them to reach, and always in eyesight...as a reminder.

My problem isn't getting them to take books out...it's getting them back in -- they are kind of like socks in my house...left wherever my boys were last!

I think if we can get kids to make reading a part of their daily lives -- not as a task, mind you -- but as natural as eating when your stomach growls, they will miss it when that time is absent.

That's the sign of real readers.