Keep 'Em Reading This Summer

Here's some ideas I've been thinking on for helping my kids continue working on their reading this summer:

- Read O'clock!
       Make reading part of your daily routine and schedule by establishing a time during the day when the whole family drops everything to read. This will be tricky to do in our house, and will require dedication on my part to stay consistent with it. But if I can get it to work, I think it could be marvelous for all of us!

- Enhance your summer outings and vacations by reading up on a topic or location before your trip.
        It can help build up anticipation for the trip, it can make your trip more enjoyable by helping you become more savvy about your destination, and it will make the trip more interesting for your kids.
       We're taking a Disney World trip this summer, and we're all having fun reading Disney books, watching Disney movies, and pouring through Disney travel guides!

- Participate in your library's summer reading program.
        Most libraries have all kinds of special events going on during the summer program. Our library is having a Star Wars party (what my boys are most excited about), puppets, crafts, magicians, reading partners (not exactly sure what this is yet), games, an animal presentation, etc. My kids are already excited about these events. We're going to try to make a weekly library trip part of our summer routine too.

- Learn a new hobby.
      Encourage your kiddos to use their free time this summer to learn a new hobby. Offer to help them, or offer to learn it with them. Then head to the library and get out all the books about that hobby that you can! Having a goal, feeling that thirst for information, can provide the right motivation to keep your kids eagerly hitting the books.

- Subscribe to a magazine
     This could work really well with the last idea mentioned. There's a magazine for everything, so get your child a subscription to a magazine that covers the topic of the hobby they're learning. That will be a fun surprise for them to watch for in the mail.

- PenPals!
     I'm going to see if I can set up a pen pal system between my kids and their cousin. This will be great practice for their reading and writing. And will give them something to look forward to receiving in the mailbox during the summer months. This also gives them a great opportunity to be creative with their writing; they can make cards, little books, lists, poems, charts, all kinds of things to have fun with!

What are you doing with your kiddos to keep them reading this summer? Share your ideas in the comments!