Looking for ways to encourage your child to read this summer? Here are a few ideas to get your child excited about summer reading!
Let Them Choose
One way to get your child excited about summer reading: let them choose what they want to read!
Have a field trip to the library and let them explore all the book options. As a parent, you may want your child to read chapter books during summer break, but being too prescriptive about what kids read will only discourage the reading habit. Let them decide what they’re interested in reading, including graphic novels and picture books. You may be surprised by how big their “reading appetite” is when they get to choose.
Make Reading a Part of Your Routine
We all want our kids to be busy reading over summer, especially because it greatly increases a child’s learning ability at school. So during the summer, make reading a part of the daily routine. Summer can get boring, so having regularly scheduled activities can help. Parents are great at loading up kids’ schedules with fun sports or craft activities – which are great – but scheduled quiet reading time is a nice break for them.
Dedicate 30 minutes a day to reading and help them set weekly goals of how many chapters they think they can finish. Offer a reward for when they finish the weekly goal, like grabbing some ice cream or doing their favorite activity.
Set a Good Example
A great way to get your child into summer reading is to model it yourself. If kids don’t see their parents reading for fun, they most likely won’t place much importance on the value of reading.
So turn off the TV and have each person read his or her book, including mom and dad. In fact, it doesn’t even have to be a book. Keeping lots of different reading materials like newspapers, magazines, poetry, and even cookbooks around is great, as choices can help inspire more interest in reading. Whatever you choose to read, make sure your child sees you doing so. Seeing that reading is an important part of your life will help children understand that reading can be an important part of theirs.
Shake Things Up with an Audiobook
Whether you’re going to be spending a lot of time in the car or your child just doesn’t seem to want to pick up their book, try shaking things up with audiobooks. Your child may be an audio learner and prefer this method of “reading.” Listen to them in the car while you’re road-tripping for a family vacation, or turn off the TV and put an audiobook on instead.
Discuss What Your Child is Reading
When children talk about what they’ve read, it can help develop their ability to understand language and build on their phonics skills. It can also help build their reading comprehension. So ask them what about the book they like, don’t like, and who their favorite character is. Ask them to retell the plot of the story their reading or explain why they think a character made a certain decision. Libraries may offer book discussion groups for children or online book chats with authors as well.
Pair Books with Activities
To make summer reading more fun, pair books with activities.
Many books have been made into films, like Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Hobbit, Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter, Mary Poppins, Black Beauty, and more. Once they read the book, have a movie night and watch the movie version of the book. If they’ve been reading nonfiction, take a trip to a museum related to the book’s content. If the characters in the book ate specific food, look up the recipes online and try to recreate them. There are plenty of ideas out there depending on the book your child read. No matter what activity you do, your child will have a blast and feel excited to read and do more.
Encourage Book Clubbing
Some kids find reading to be lonely. Good thing you can help make it more social and fun for them! Get your kid and his or her friends to pick out a book and read it for the month. At the end of the month, host a “book club” sleepover. Provide their favorite snacks (bonus if they relate to the book!) and a set of questions for them to discuss. They can talk, eat, and decide on their next book together and then enjoy a sleepover as a reward for finishing the book.
Epic Kids is Here for Your Family
We hope these tips help you encourage your child to fall in love with summer reading! And if you need more reading content in your home, consider adding Epic Kids to your collection.
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