Tips to Help Make Reading Fun for Kids Over the Summer
Summer is a great time to unwind, relax, and enjoy time together, but it’s also a great opportunity to practice some essential skills like reading! The last thing you want to do is make it feel like more drudgery or more schoolwork, though, so what can you do to make reading fun for your kids this summer? Here are some ideas…
Set Goals and Make It Game-Like (Not School-Like)
Reading in school looks very structured in most cases. They probably have a reading log they have to fill or specific assignments to complete. Summer is a great time to let loose a little bit and treat reading as a game. You can do this by setting daily, weekly, or seasonal goals and establishing prizes or rewards along the way. For some kids, it may start small—like reading for fun for 10 minutes a day. Gradually, you can increase this time as it becomes part of your family’s summer rhythms.
The key here is to make the rewards tangible and engaging. Align them with the things your kids are interested in—it’s not bribery; it’s motivation!
Form a Family or Peer Reading Club
Reading is always more fun if you’re not the only one doing it. Create a culture around reading in your home by having a family book club where you share about what you’ve been reading (or thoughts if you all read the same book). Alternatively, you could assemble a group of your child’s peers and have them all read the same book before the discussion. This will provide some extra incentive to get it done thanks to healthy peer pressure, as well as a new and fun way to engage with the books they read.
Use Audiobooks for Travel Time
It’s easy for everyone to put in their own earbuds or occupy themselves on their own screens during road trips, but instead, what if you used the time to all listen to an audiobook together? Local libraries have great resources where you can access them for free, and there are a wide range of narrators and styles of books so you can tailor your choices to what your whole family may enjoy. You never know—it could even carry on past the car ride and give you something different and fun to talk about over dinner, too!
Connect Reading With Places You’re Visiting
Not all summer reading has to be full books. If you’re traveling or doing a specific experience this summer, gather reading material related to the sights you’ll be seeing. Whether it’s before or after the excursion, this is a way for your child to practice reading in smaller chunks—and in a way that has real-life connections for them.
Make It Part of the Routine
Most kids won’t read during the summer unless it’s part of the routine. Set aside time each day where all devices are turned off and the whole family is reading. Creating an environment that fosters reading in your home will go a long way towards making it more enjoyable (and less of a fight) for everyone.
Utilize Local Libraries, Bookstore Owners, or Teachers for Recommendations
If your child says they “hate reading,” one of the reasons is probably that they just haven’t found the right books yet! Summer is a great time to just gather as many texts as possible and see what catches their interest. Librarians, local bookstores, and teachers may all have solid recommendations for your child based on their age, reading level, and interests.
Read More: Signs of Reading Difficulty + When to Seek Help >>
Looking for Targeted Help Making Reading More Fun and Building Confidence This Summer?
Another reason many kids hate reading is because it’s hard. They aren’t comprehending it, they’re fighting for every word, and it’s just not a pleasant experience. Summer is a great time to take a step back and make sure they have the foundational skills that are necessary for successful reading.
At LearningRx, we target reading struggles by digging deep into the root cause. The reality is that more practice is not what’s going to help reading click for most kids—they need targeted intervention that addresses the cognitive deficits that prevented them from grasping it the first time.
