Watching my children develop a love for reading is one of my greatest joys! The wonder in their eyes from looking at picture books to reading their first sentences is magical! There are several ways to foster a love of reading and setting up an in-home reading area for your child is one of my favorites! An in-home reading area is a special place where your kids can snuggle up with a good book and go on an amazing adventure!
First, choose a space that is quiet, well lit, and has storage for books. You don't need a large space; any small space will work! I chose to set up our in-home reading area in a corner of our living room that already had a bookcase. The living room is where we typically read together, so it's fitting for the reading area to join this space permanently.The bookcase housed most of my kids' independent reading books, so I didn't have to transport them! I organized the books in the cubes by each child's preference to make it easier for them to navigate and find a book they want. I also added a few new books, like You Choose 3rd-4th Grade Book Set and If You Give a Moose a Muffin Book, to boost their excitement! I kept the cube bins that matched our living room and filled them with stuffed animals and huggable Long Arm Stuffed Cat reading pals.Next, choose your seating. You can use pillows, blankets, or rugs you already have to add comfort to your reading area. My children are a little obsessed with pillow piles! Who doesn't love a pile of comfy pillows to plop onto for a good reading session? I used an extra-large dog bed as the foundation then topped it off with a Large Blue Pillow, Jumbo Blue Floor Pillow, Medium Yellow Pillow, and Fiesta Tassel Pillow! Now they have a pillow pile all the time, and they don't have to bring out all of their bedroom pillows! I added this cuddly Kind-A-Saurus too because my little guy loves to cuddle him while reading!Now it's time to decorate and add some fun! When I was setting up this in-home reading area, I knew I wanted it to be inviting and fun, so I decided on a bright watercolor theme! My daughter blended watercolors on these DIY Slat Signs and DIY Unfinished Wood Arrows. They turned out beautifully! I wanted to add some dimension and character to the main visual, so I grabbed some cardboard letters. My husband painted them white and then glued them to these watercolor masterpieces for quick and easy wall decor! Now we have a catchy READ sign above the reading area!
I also added wall shelves just below to display a few book faces so my kids can easily identify and grab the book they want. These shelves have been great for keeping track of which books they're currently reading or are interested in.
On the connecting wall, I hung the adorable Happy Place Pineapple Sign and an encouraging Motivational Classroom Wall Cling, to inspire my children while reading. These inspirational signs are adorned by the watercolor arrows. I strung these soft Silver Accent Bulb String Lights from corner to corner for some flair and a soft glow!On top of the bookshelf is a nice black-framed letter board. It's the perfect platform to display reading inspiration or one of my favorite quotes. I can change the quote as needed and there are plenty of letters provided!
Next to the letter board, I have a book display. I always display a book of the week to pique my children's interests in a genre or book they may not have looked at before. Last week was If You Give a Moose a Muffin and now, I have Llama Llama Red Pajama displayed. My children eagerly read both as soon as they saw them on the Tabletop Easel book display rack. I found these fun story Question Dice, and I use them to help my little guy with comprehension, but I've also seen my kids using them on their own! Bonus!Oh, and my ten-year-old loves mermaids, so I couldn't pass up these adorable Laminated Fun-Shaped Bookmarks! These add a pop of color and fun to any child's reading experience! Each of my kids have already chosen their favorite!
I'm so happy with how our fun little at-home library turned out! We all worked together to add some of our favorite things to make this space extra special for everyone. I hope you have just as much fun setting up your in-home reading area!