The benefits of reading for kids are plentiful, and summer is the perfect time to make reading a priority in your family. Just like roller skating can help them burn off energy, improve balance and coordination, and get a heart-pumping cardio workout, reading is like a workout for the brain! Learning to love reading sets your child up for a lifetime of benefits, from academic advantages and improved vocabulary to rich imagination and a sense of curiosity and independence.
Of course, as a parent in 2020, getting your kids to read is easier said than done. Check out these summer reading ideas to help your kids develop a reading habit and a lifelong love of books.
Summer Reading Ideas for Kids
Start a virtual book club.
With all of the pandemic uncertainty around reopening schools, your kids are probably missing their friends. This idea is perfect, because it incorporates reading with some much-needed socialization. Start a book club for kids by inviting your child’s classmates or friends to a regularly scheduled video conference where they can discuss a book each week. If they have summer reading lists for school, that’s a great place to start, or you can narrow it down to a few selections and let the other kids and parents in the group vote on the book of the week.
For maximum fun and fanciness, you could even treat it like an adult book club by having finger food snacks or drinking out of tea cups. Let one parent/child pair “host” each week by kicking off the meeting with a conversational prompt or observation about the book.
Create an at-home “library.”
No, you don’t need to have wall-to-wall bookshelves to create a library in your home, you just need a little creativity. Setting up a dedicated reading area is a great way to subtly encourage your kids to spend more time reading. To put it simply, “If you build it, they will come.”
Creating your own reading room doesn’t have to be complicated or require a big budget; it could be as simple as placing some comfy pillows next to the bookshelf in your child’s room, or hanging a hammock on your porch. And not to be ignored, there’s the classic window seat reading nook, just begging you to curl up with a good book like a cat in a sunny window sill.
Pick a theme.
If your kids aren’t particularly stoked about reading, one way to get them interested is to pick a theme that plays to their interests. Whether they love superheroes or dinosaurs, art or animals, curating a list of books on one subject can help them explore and delve further into their interests.
Take advantage of your local library.
Last, but not least, don’t forget to take advantage of your local library! Even though COVID-19 restrictions have caused closures and cancellations of library events, many branches are allowing patrons to reserve books online and pick them up curbside.
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