10 Ideas for Summer Reading Fun!

Keep those phonics skills sharp and those reading muscles strong with these fun summer reading ideas! You might just spark excitement for even the most reluctant readers.

1. Swap books with friends, neighbors, or family members.
   New books can excite your child, but they can often be thrown aside and never touched again. To keep the books fresh, try regularly swapping a couple of books with friends or neighbors who have similar reading levels with your child. Leave small notes in the book with a sticky note to give it a personal touch!
   
   
2. Find unique reading material such as magazines, comics, maps, the news, etc.
   Encourage your child to act out performance scripts, read out recipes while cooking or baking, sing along with lyrics, or turn on closed captions while watching videos. All of these ideas involve reading without the physical book that might appear "boring" to some children. Check out our list of 35 Things Kids Can Read That Aren’t Books.
   
   
3. Make a fun weekly reading challenge.
   Instead of establishing goals such as reading one book a week or finishing a chapter every day, spice it up with a reading challenge or game! Creating a reading bingo board, tic-tac-toe board, or another game with unique reading goals can make reading more interesting.
   
   Make challenges like "read something about summer," "read a book from a new author," "read a genre/subject you've never read before", and more. To make it more complex, mix-and-match multiple challenges. And don't miss the Summer Learning Program from Buncombe County Libraries with fabulous summer learning activities, prizes, and more! Click here
   
   
4. Hold a friendly reading competition among friends or siblings.
   Seeing others reading can encourage your child to read as well. Try to set respective and realistic goals suitable for each reader. Remember, every reader is at different levels. Prizes can also make reading fun!
   
   
5. Read in a new location.
   Try heading to the park, the beach, or even your own backyard! Staying inside may make readers too restless to sit down and concentrate on reading. Changing up the reading environment and going somewhere specifically to read can develop an interest for reading.
   
   
6. Decorate a special reading corner or reading area.
   ​If going out to the park everyday sounds unrealistic to you, then try setting up a fun reading area at home! Use holiday or fairy lights, make a pillow fort, use flashlights or reading lights, and prepare some snacks. Make reading a special experience that your child can look forward to! Scholastic gives more ideas on how to make reading enjoyable.
   
   
7. Find audio book versions of the books your child is reading.
   ​Try checking out physical books and audio books from your public library. Hearing someone new read alongside your child can be more engaging and make reading more interesting.
   
   
8. Watch the movie version of books and compare the similarities and differences.
   Reading the book and watching the movie can be wildly different experiences! Reading the book prior to a movie night can help your child read more critically and closely. Family Education offers other everyday ways to make reading appealing.
   
   
9. List all the books your child reads during the summer.
   Having a visual of all the books your child reads can encourage them to keep going! It can be impressive to see all the books on the list as well as motivating to make the list longer. Consider establishing milestone rewards as an incentive.
   
   
10. Set an example for your kids and read alongside them.
    Lastly, it’s important model reading for your child. When children see you read, they embrace a message that reading is important, fun, relaxing, you name it!
    
    

Hopefully these ideas can help you and your child pick up a fun reading routine this summer!