I know that reading can sound really lame. There’s always something more fun to do. Recess isn’t as long as we’d like it to be and teachers can pile on the homework sometimes. There’s a long list of reasons why people don’t like to read or why reading sometimes is swept to the side to make more room for fun activities.

Though, sometimes reading gets put aside because a lot of kids feel like they’re not very good at it. When we think we’re not good at something, we tend not to try. Sometimes it’s because we’re scared or maybe we just don’t want to disappoint anyone. But, there are so many ways to improve reading skills and they’re pretty easy, too.

The first thing is that practice makes perfect. It’s like that with anything you want to improve or master or learn. You need to practice and put in the time. Grab a parent and head out to a local library – maybe even the one at school. Go through the books for your age group and pick out something you think sounds interesting. Try and read a few pages whenever you get a chance. It might be best to complete a few pages every day so you don’t get too rusty. But, the good news here is that these books will be about something you’re interested in. As a kid, I was always more interested in reading something I liked than reading something I was told to read. Once you start a good book, you won’t be able to put it down.

There are also a lot of people who you can speak to in order to better your reading. The teacher is there to help you. Your parents want to see you succeed as well. All you need to do is ask. Have your parents help you with any big words or difficult passages. If you’re too embarrassed to see the teacher during school, wait around after school and see her then. There’s no harm or embarrassment in asking someone for help, especially if you need it. In the long run, spending a bit more time with the teacher will help you in the future – even if it doesn’t look like it right now.

I know that going to the teacher can take up our precious recess and leisure time. But, like I said before, you need to do some work in order to improve those skills. If you prefer to work on your reading at home, no problem! There are lots of resources to use.

Leap Frog is a wonderful tool that helps with any words you may have trouble with. Audio books are actually what helped me with my reading when I was younger. There’s no age limit either. Feel free to read along with the voice in order to help get through anything that may be a bit confusing. Your parents are also another wonderful set of people to help you get through anything. Have them read to you before bedtime and the older you get the better you’ll become at reading. When you get too old for bedtime stories, read to yourself, ask your parents for a tutor or just turn to a friend and ask for their help. Your friends will be there for you no matter what, so there’s no shame in asking them for a little guidance.

Reading makes us better learners, readers, writers, and thinkers. Reading has a lot of benefits. I know it can be hard but a little practice will make all the difference in the long run.