Summer Reading {Our Home Program}

We all know how important it is to read at home with our children - summer is no exception. It can be hard to motivate children sometimes to read during those casual summer months, but reading everyday can help them to retain the information they have spent the last 9 months learning. As parents we all want our kids to start the new school year on the right foot! 

There are tons of wonderful summer reading programs available for kids, usually at bookstores and your local library. They have incentives to encourage kids to read. However, I have a bucket load of books at home that are wonderful reads...so I created a summer reading "program" that I use with my son during the summer. 

Incentive: 

To encourage daily reading (at least Monday-Friday), I hand out Book Bucks for pages read. This play money can be used to "shop" for toys and other goodies. I reward one Book Buck for every 20 pages read. I change out the items that can be purchased, but most are dollar store toys. I also have coupons that can be purchased for outings, such as a trip to get ice cream or go to the movies. All the items vary in how many Book Bucks they cost. 

Reading Log:

My son fills out a reading log each time he reads a book. He is to fill in the date, book read, author, and number of pages read. I use this log to calculate the number of pages read each week. Book Bucks are handed out at the end of the week. 

Calendar:

I have a summer calendar that is used to record the weekly reading goal and to record any additional reading activities done. At the beginning of each week my son creates a goal for himself - it may be to finish a certain book or read a certain amount of pages. A few times a week I encourage other reading and writing activities. If these are completed, they are recorded on the calendar. I usually give extra Book Bucks for goals met or exceeded and extra activities.

If you are interested to see more of what I use for our Summer Reading Program, click here to download. You will find our reading log, calendar, reading activities to complete and add to the calendar, Book Bucks, and coupons. FYI: I print the circle activities on sticker paper to punch out and place on the calendar when completed and I laminate the Book Bucks for durability. If you have more than one child, make each one a file folder to keep their logs and calendar in.

Need some ideas for age appropriate books for summer reading? Check out the booklist that Scholastic provides for its summer reading program.

Happy Summer Reading!