As a kid, one of my favorite aspects of summer vacation was all the reading time. Even better was when I had a goal I was trying to reach. My town had a Read-a-Thon for each grade in elementary school and I wanted to win a medal sooooo badly. Prizes were determined based on how many pages students read during the summer, so I took my reading extremely seriously. I never won my medal (although I can still tell you who did) but that incentive gave me an extra boost to read.
If you’re looking for ways to motivate kids to read, check out some of the ideas below.
Summer reading programs at your local/school library– I volunteer at my local library once a month, and it is covered with summer reading ideas for kids. There are workshops, activities, and a summer reading club. There are also story times, BYOB (bring your own book) events and mommy and me reading times.
Barnes and Nobles Book Challenge– Barnes and Nobles is holding a summer reading challenge for kids where they can earn a free book! Kids fill out a reading journal and once they have read 8 books they are eligible for a free book based on their grade. For more details, click here.
Scholastic Read-A-Palooza– This is a totally awesome challenge. According to Scholstic, “Over the course of 18 weeks, kids can enter their summer reading minutes online, unlocking digital rewards as they complete weekly reading challenges; and access book excerpts, videos, and other summer-exclusive content.” But wait, it gets even better!! When kids collectively reach certain reading minute milestones, Scholastic, in collaboration with United Way, will donate books to kids in need across the US!! To sign up to be part of this AMAZING challenge, click here.
Brightly Reading Challenge- I’m a Brightly fan (check out my ideas on using Mad Libs here). This year they have separate reading challenges for preschoolers- teens. I love that they give kids different reading ideas that are age appropriate. They also provide paths to additional reading lists. To see these ideas, click here.
Little Reading Coach 