One of the many questions that I get from parents is how can they encourage reading over the summer break. Summer reading is so important for reading development. It helps kids practice all of the skills and strategies that they have learned during the school year. It helps them to stay at the same reading level (or maybe even go up a reading level or two). Reading non-fiction helps to build their background knowledge which will strengthen their comprehension. But honestly, it is not easy to get kids to read over the summer! Most kids associate reading with school and no kid wants anything to do with school during summer break. This is where parents have to “retrain their brain” and change their child’s attitude and beliefs about reading for fun. Is this easy? Nope but I promise you it is worthwhile! Keep reading for some help with this dilemma and did I mention a FREEBIE?

Tips and Tricks to Encourage Reading Over the Summer

Here are some of the tricks that I have used with my own kids and that I have recommended to parents to help them get their kid to read more over summer break:

1. Let your child see you reading! This is so important because kids pay more attention to what their parents do than what they say. Kids also mimic their parent’s actions big time! It doesn’t matter what you read, as long as you are reading too. One way that I used to read in front of my kids was reading cookbooks. Since I have to cook five or six meals a day during the summer, I often was scrolling through cookbooks that I got from my local library for recipes. If you are not an avid book reader yourself, that is ok because there are other ways for you to get your reading in. Instead of watching the news, read the news articles from your local TV station online. There are so many magazines that you can read that are tailored to specific interests. Are you interested in fishing, cats, dogs, gardening, travel or motorcycles? There is a magazine for that! Moneysavingmom.com has a list of magazines that you can get for free! You can read on your kindle or ipad too. Electronics still provide numerous opportunities for materials to read. There are apps that ou can use such as Audible, Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, Google Play Books and my favorite is Libby. Libby is an app that allows you to check out books from your local library digitally for free.
2. Take your kids to the library one day every week of the summer! Most libraries have a kid section that they are very good at making interesting to kids. It is bright, colorful, has puzzles or games and kid-friendly seating that is so enticing! To make going to the library more adventurous, I often take my kids to different libraries near me. Also be sure to let your kids choose what they are interested in reading. I know that graphic novels are not the same as other kinds of books but let them choose one along with a couple of other books if they like to read them. Graphic novels are a short read which will give your child a sense of accomplishment. Then your child will have to move on and read the other books during the week.
3. Join the Summer Reading Program at your local library! While you are at the library, join the summer reading program. Kids get all kinds of rewards just for reading over the summer. There are often events held at the library that are fun for kids to attend during the summer as well. We have been to see a magician, puppet show and met authors who have read from their books (which also makes the book more interesting especially if you get it signed with your child’s name in the book).
4. Schedule a Specific Time Each Day as Reading Time! Turn off the TV, electronic devices and do an at home “DEAR time” also known as “Drop Everything And Read” time. For some parents, they do this after dinner. Others do this in morning after breakfast. For me, our DEAR time was right before bed. I always had my kids go upstairs a half hour before bed, get ready for bed and then we would read together for about twenty minutes. This will be based on how old your child is. If they are under the age of five, then is ok for you to read books of their choice to them. Beware at that age, kids love to read the same books over and over again! This is a good thing though because it strengthens their oral language skills. If your child memorizes their favorite and wants to “read” it to you, go ahead and let them. This simple act is building an early reading skill called concept of print. Once your child starts learning to read, it is important for you to continue reading books to them that they cannot read yet but also incorporate a book, sight word cards or even sentences for them to read independently. For older kids who are proficient readers, you can have them read to you or you and your child each read your own book.
5. Create an Incentive! Some kids need an incentive or a purpose for them to do their summer reading. Let them make a challenging reading goal where they decide how many books they think they can read over the summer. Maybe four chapter books for older kids and maybe twenty books for younger ones. After they accomplish their goal, what will you do to celebrate? Maybe take them to the movies, a local fair or theme park that you had planned on taking them to anyway but let them think they earned it by doing their summer reading. Maybe the incentive is something that your child really wants such as a new bike or Robux gift card. I used to let my kids pick out a new toy from Target but it had to be under thirty dollars. After all, it wasn’t Christmas. Another ways to incentivize summer reading is to add it to their summer chore chart. That way, it is part of their daily routine and they get the thrill of checking it off as done.

Finally, one last thought is do not make any of these tips or tricks optional for your child. Once you make it optional, they will choose not to do it every time and it will be a fight to get them to read. This is counter productive to your goal for them as a parent.

Doing all of these tips and tricks will help your child to see that reading can be fun and not a chore or boring. Happy Summer Reading!