Snowball Of Success: 5 Things To Do After Reading With Your Child

You and your child just had an AMAZING time reading together! Woohoo! 🙌

You took turns, your child read willingly, they sounded out when they were able to and asked for help when they needed it. No struggle or fight in sight. It was pure magic!

Bravo to both of you for all the effort and patience that takes. Seriously, way to go! 👏

And yet, deep down you’re worried because it was a total unicorn of an experience – the one and only time this has ever happened – and you’re doubtful it will ever happen again.

Luckily, there are things you can do right after reading that will help keep up the momentum and start building what I like to call a “snowball of success”.

As one of my favorite teachers says, “The better it gets, the better it gets”.

It can keep getting better and better from here. It just takes being intentional about a few things to keep the positive momentum going.

So next time you have an awesome reading session with your child, try doing one or all of these things right after:

Celebrate Good times! (C’mon!)

Doo do do do do doo do do. Like the song says, it’s a celebration! You and your child definitely have reason to celebrate. Find something specific to recognize (their first time taking turns with you, sounding out long words, asking for help, finishing a whole chapter together, just generally amazing reading) and pick a way to celebrate it! A dance party is my favorite, but you can do cartwheels, shake a glitter jar, use streamers, throw confetti, color a poster, add stickers to their sticker wall, whatever. Tell your child what you’re celebrating and why. “Let’s have a dance party because you sounded out a 3 syllable word! I’m so proud of you!” Put on a song, cheer your child’s name, and do whatever comes naturally for 30 seconds. And if you’re not sure what that is, follow your child’s lead. They definitely know how to have fun! Enjoy!

Praise Effort!

You’ve got the celebration vibes going, now be specific in praising your child’s effort. This is how you build grit and self-esteem. Not by praising the outcome: it really doesn’t matter if your child got all of the words they attempted to sound out correct. What matters is that they tried. That they didn’t give up. That they kept going. Over and over again. “I love how you tried so hard on tricky words!” “I love how you kept going all the way to the end!” “I love how you never gave up!” “I love how you asked for help when you needed it!” (Yes, asking for help takes effort too). Praise the effort your child put into this session and watch them beam with pride while their resilience muscles grow!

Thank Your Child!

Gratitude is simple, yet powerful. Lean into how truly grateful you are for how smoothly today went and tell your child. “That was amazing! I loved taking turns with you. Thank you so much for reading with me!” Everyone loves to be appreciated. It feels good. And it keeps your child coming back for more of those warm, fuzzy feelings.

Get excited about what you’re going to read together next!

Keep it loose. No need to over commit to exactly what you’re going to read next time (kids are notorious for changing their minds, and that’s okay). Just get some curiosity and eager anticipation going! And remember, suspense is your friend! It always feels good to have something fun to look forward to. “Ooh, maybe next time we can start the other Frog and Toad book!” “If you liked this book, I bet you’ll LOVE this one!” “Maybe next time we’ll find out where they go!” “What do you think we should try reading together next? Your choice!” You’ll know you’re doing it right if they’re begging to maybe, just maybe start another book together right now. “Ooh this one looks SO good! I’m super excited to read it with you. That kitty looks so cute and sneaky! It’s bed time now, but I can’t wait to read this one together tomorrow – maybe we can even read it at breakfast!” Can’t you just feel the excitement for tomorrow’s reading already?!

Hug it out!

Or give a high five, tickle their belly, whatever touch they consent to in this moment and enjoy. The point is, physically anchor into what a FUN experience this was for both of you. Teamwork makes the dream work. You guys did it! Lean into the silly celebratory vibes with physical bonding. “Yay, we did it! Let’s hug it out!”

So next time you have a great reading session with your child, try keeping the positive momentum going with these steps!

And keep in mind, you can always find ONE thing to celebrate even if it wasn’t the most stellar session over all. If you need tips on what you can do before reading to set your child up for success, I’ve got you.

No matter how today’s reading went, challenge yourself to celebrate one thing your child did right. Even if it was just calming down and letting you read to them after a meltdown. Express some gratitude and praise the effort it took to get back to baseline.

There’s always something to celebrate! I’d love to hear how it goes! Share in the comments below.

Cheering you on!

xo,