Independent Reading: Beginning of the Year

At the beginning of the year, independent reading can be challenging for kindergarten children.  Their word knowledge is generally limited, and their stamina is not long.  I started my independent reading on the first day of school last year and loved the results.  This year, for some reason, I was not on top of that.  A lot of changes happened at the beginning of our school year, and I guess I just didn't feel ready.

Well, we started this week, and I think my kiddos are in love!  We started off by taking advantage of some beautiful late summer/early fall weather and reading outside.

We are able to go about 4 minutes, which I am totally thrilled with this early in kindergarten.  I had a couple students today begging to read longer- that makes my teacher heart happy!  I hope this class develops a love for books as much as last year's class had.  

Today a couple kiddos had the opportunity to get up and share a book with the class.  Those who did not get a turn today are anxiously awaiting their turn.  Our independent reading is off to a great start!

How do you instill a love of books and reading in your students?