Online Reading Sessions for children: What a Bunch of Curious Kids Taught Me About Reading

I attended one of The STEM Educators' online reading sessions for children last week, mostly just to see how it all works. I thought I'd be quietly watching from the side. Instead, I found myself completely caught up in the energy of a room full of kids who couldn't stop asking questions, and honestly? It was the most fun I'd had in a while.

Curiosity Is Already There — It Just Needs Nurturing

Children are naturally curious beings. They ask questions about whatever they see, hear, and experience. A simple "why?" or "how?" can lead to a fascinating conversation, a new discovery, and even a great passion for learning. So the challenge for educators is not to create curiosity, because it already exists in kids, but to nurture it. And one of the most effective ways to do this is through reading. Reading isn't just about recognizing words. One of the greatest benefits of reading for children is the opportunity to use their imagination and explore a whole new world, getting introduced to ideas beyond their everyday experiences. Every story brings a new perspective and encourages children to think, imagine, and question the world around them.

A Room Full of Buzzing Energy

While joining the session, I wasn't sure what to expect, but the energy in the room immediately set the tone. There was a group of kids buzzing with excitement even before the story began. They were asking questions, making guesses, and building anticipation around what the story might be about. It was genuinely fun to watch — that unfiltered, almost contagious curiosity that children carry so effortlessly. And it didn't stop there. At the end of the session, there was a Kahoot activity that brought the whole group to life. Interactive quizzes like Kahoot can become powerful reading activities for kids helping them engage with stories in a playful way. Every single child was eager to participate, showing just how much they had engaged with the story. It was a small moment, but it said a lot about what this kind of reading experience can do for kids

Reading in a Digital World

There was a time when reading meant quietly turning pages of a book, lost in a world created entirely by words, a timeless experience in its own right. But nowadays, young people are growing up in a digital environment filled with screens, games, and instant interaction. So it's worth asking: as children are surrounded by countless forms of entertainment, how do we make reading something they genuinely enjoy and look forward to?

Turning Reading Into an Adventure

When it comes to encouraging children to read, the answer may lie in transforming reading into an engaging, participatory experience, which is exactly what I learned after attending The STEM Educators' reading session. Instead of simply asking children to read or listen to a story, the idea is to invite them to become active participants. When children are encouraged to predict what might happen next, share their opinions about a character's choices, or guess how a story will end, they connect with it on a deeper level. Reading becomes an opportunity for them to think, question, imagine, and explore. When reading becomes engaging, children stop seeing it as a task and start seeing it as an adventure, one where every story opens a door to new ideas, new questions, and new discoveries.

Join the Community

This is exactly the spirit behind The STEM Educators' weekly reading sessions. Every week, we host an online reading session for children, bringing them together around a carefully selected story, one with a meaningful message, the kind that sparks both imagination and conversation. Our stories come from trusted resources like Storyline Online, which offers beautifully narrated books read by actors and designed to make storytime a rich, memorable experience. We also have a growing community of parents on WhatsApp where session updates, story links, and activity details are shared, so your child never misses a session and you always know what they're exploring that week. If you'd like your child to be part of this community, we'd love to have them. Join the link below to be part of our reading group and get access to upcoming sessions. Because every curious child deserves a story worth getting excited about