Getting your kids to enjoy reading can be a tricky uphill battle. Many children only want to explore a virtual world in their game consoles. Some would rather run around outside. One of the ways you can encourage a love of reading in your children is to create a reading nook. Give them a corner all their own. Add some cute, engaging touches that are sure to delight them when they see their special alcove.
Creating a reading corner doesn’t have to be an expensive project or even take up a lot of space, especially if you are trying to encourage your littles to love reading. Although of course, for the really little ones, you’ll need to allow enough space for you to read together in their special literary corner. To help inspire your own children’s reading corner, I’ve put together some fantastic, child-friendly ideas.
Fabric Tepee
Tepees are great fun and have become more popular in recent years for camping excursions and even set up for glamping (glamorous camping). Some of the cutest tepees are the fabric ones available for kids, complete with internal playmat. Not only does this create an instant space for a child to call their own, it can be kitted out with plenty of pillows, twinkling fairy lights and a blanket for bunking down on those fresh spring evenings. Some tepees have plastic or waterproof bottoms so can be taken out into the garden and due to their convenient, easy-to-pack down design, they can be quickly tidied away to reclaim the space.
A Secret Cupboard
Children have this uncanny knack of finding small places to tuck themselves into. So, a secret ‘reading cupboard’ can play into this desire to hide away and have some privacy. While a ‘secret cupboard’ doesn’t need to be a cupboard, it’s a small space a child can have to call their own and can only be reached ‘secretly’. This can be achieved by closing off small box rooms or building a dedicated ‘reading wardrobe’ and mounting a bookshelf on the door that hide away the rooms true purpose. Using these clever rising butt hinges can help create a truly secretive location. They ensure the inconspicuous bookshelf sits flush on the floor but rises as the door opens to prevent it wearing on carpets or causing scratches on floors.
If you have an attic room with sloping ceilings, you can create a series of cupboards that run along the walls. This makes more effective (and fun) use of the space. Some cupboards that can be used as traditional storage, can be customized as a child’s hideaway and reading nook.
Under the Stairs
In true Harry Potter fashion, an under the stairs cupboard or space can be easily and cheaply converted into a kid’s size reading alcove for peaceful imaginative exploration through story. Use recycled pallets to create a small bench, cover with a cushion (there are plenty of guides for making custom seat cushions to fit your specific space) then add some cute lights and pillows and let your kids add their own personal finishing touches, such as decorative images of their favorite storybook characters or somewhere to make a record of their favorite books.
Where space allows and similar to the secret cupboard, install or build a piece of furniture that can cover the entrance to their secret reading space but still allows them free access, such as the bookshelf on the door, a secret exit through the back of a wardrobe or even access through the under stairs space into their own room! The possibilities are endless when you are led by your imagination.
Reading spaces are great way for kids to take ownership of an area that is completely their own. With a bit of forward planning, reading nooks can soon become homework stations that encourage, motivate and inspire kids through even the most puzzling questions.
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