Summer Reading Ideas

Keeping your kids reading (or starting them on a reading habit) over the summer is really good for them. All reading of any kind is good – reading to them, or with them, or getting them reading on their own all works. And it doesn’t matter what they read. Encourage any and all reading! Most libraries will have a summer reading program to help track their progress and offer a small reward at the end. I found my kids to be surprisingly engaged in winning those prizes, and it helped us keep a semi-regular schedule of visiting the library over the summer. These steps might feel small, but every encouragement to help kids read more is worth it!

Here are 4 tips and printables you can use with your kids this summer. You can print them for free on Teachers Pay Teachers, or use The Trip Clip website to edit them to make them work better for your kids.

1. Stock your Shelves

The right book can turn a reluctant reader into a voracious one. The trick is to keep putting books in front of them until something clicks. Try these steps and keep a shelf they have easy access to stocked with lots of choices they might like. And remember – all reading counts!!

If you need some book suggestions to get you started, try these

2. Broaden Their Horizons

Once you get your kids reading, sometimes the challenge can be to get them to try new things. This Summer Reading Challenge is a great way to help make that happen. Treat it like the reading program at your local library – let your kids keep track of what they read and offer a prize if they complete the list. You can print it as is, or edit it to make it just right.

3. Make It Fun

The most important thing you can do to keep your child reading is make it fun.  This bingo board is a great way to do that.  Encourage them to get a BINGO in any direction, or black out the whole board if they can! If they have trouble getting started, have them roll 2 dice. The first one is the row, the second is the column. If they roll a six, they get to pick. You can print it as is, or edit it to make it just right.

4. Engage All Senses

This last list is a kinetic way to approach getting kids to read. You’ll need to help them with some of these, but it’s a wonderful way to help kids think about reading in whole new ways. Be an example and bring your own book too – you may discover you love reading under a tree or with a friend!

You can print all 4 of these lists for free on Teachers Pay Teachers. If you have other great ideas about how to keep kids reading over the summer, share them in the comments below!