10 Easy Ways to Get Your Child to Read This Summer

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Half Price Books. The opinions and text are all mine.

Summertime is that magical time in childhood where there is no school, bedtimes are skewed, and there is just so much time to be a kid. But did you know that studies have found that the average child loses 1.5 months of learning over the summer while they’re out of school? Which can put them behind when they start a new grade in the fall. Did you know that one way to stop that decline is to get your kids to read? But How? How do we find ways to get our children to read during the summer? And make it fun?

I’ve had a few years to think about this. My mother was a teacher and I thought back to our summers and how she kept us reading during the summer and came up with a few ideas that work for our family. Maybe they can help yours!

10 Easy Ways to Get Your Child To Read This Summer

1. Be the Change That You Want to See

Children model the behavior they see! So read! Show your excitement about getting a new book! Don’t let your kids only see you scroll social media or watch TV. Let them see you reading for enjoyment too.

2. Have Books everywhere

Make sure your kids have access to books right in their home. We have bookshelves in almost every room. Books on every surface. Pookah has grown up surrounded by books.

3. Never Make Reading a Punishment

You want reading to be something your kids enjoy. That won’t happen if they see it as punishment. Once you take the fun out of it, it becomes a chore or a task.

4. Have a Comfy Place Where Everyone Reads

Do you have a special place in your house where everyone likes to hang out and read? We have a corner couch area where we all seems to hang out and read and of course the porch and hammock in the summer.

5.Bedtime stories

Don’t count out bedtimes stories and reading aloud even when they get older. My husband and my son have always enjoyed bedtimes stories and they read aloud every night STILL. It gives you a chance not only to bond over a book but discuss it too. Which leads me to…

6. Make it a Family Affair

Read something together! Right now, CDub and Pookah are reading the Harry Potter Series. So after each new chapter, we all talk about what happened and they give me their theories on what’s next. It’s a great way to keep your kids interested if you are all doing it together.

7. Remember that All Reading is Good

Don’t fall into that trap of worrying that your kid SHOULD be reading. They will get to the classics in school! But meanwhile, if they want to read a magazine or a comic book, don’t hold them back! Pookah is currently reading a new graphic novel that HE picked out. And he can’t put it down. That’s the point right?

8. Make a Trip to the Bookstore an Adventure

Make bookstores a magical adventure to visit for the entire family. We love visiting Half Price Books. Open for more than 45 years, Half Price Books  is America’s largest family-owned new and used bookstore chain with 125 stores in 17 states.

We love that it has a wide selection of kids’ books and affordable prices. Pookah is like a kid in a candy store! And honestly..so am I! I give him a budget and let him loose to find something he likes. I make suggestions, but let him make the ultimate choices.

9. Join a summer reading program

Reading with others and competition ALWAYS motivates kids! That’s why we can’t wait for the Half Price Books Feed Your Brain Summer Reading Program(FYB) . FYB was designed as a way to preserve reading and comprehension skills learned in the classroom during the school year. Starting June 1 through July 31, kids and teens are rewarded for reading at least 15 mins a day. Just 15 minutes!!

10. Offer incentives

Don’t count out an incentive to keep your kids reading!! As part of the Feed Your Brain Summer Reading Program, kids are rewarded for their efforts! When your kid has read for 300 minutes, parents and kids can visit their nearest Half Price Book location to turn in their completed reading log and earn a $5 Bookworm Buck to redeem for books of their choice.

These reading logs are available in-store or for download online at po.st/a15ZTw  AND, all Half Price Books locations will host The Biggest Storytime of the Summer (June 2 at 2 p.m. local time), a special event to kick off the Feed Your Brain Summer Reading Program. Make sure you check it out!

Hopefully, one or all of these easy ways to get your child to read this summer will work for you! Question?