Getting children to read in the summer.

Well my son is only 8 months old so to get him looking at books we read to him before each nap and bedtime so 3 times a day we're reading to him. For older children I know a friend of mine has her kids age 5 and 7 in a summer camp reading program called Fun In The Sun with reading which was offered free at an elementary school. The kids have fun as well as read. For older children one could bring along books on beach outings or on long car rides. It's important to make a routine of it as most kids love a routine so maybe set aside even 20 minutes during the afternoon where the TV goes off, the cell phones and computers are turned off and everybody in the family grabs a book, a drink and sits somewhere comfortable and reads. Take it outside and spread out some blankets if it's nice. On days it's not so nice then take a family trip to the local library where everybody gets to pick out a book or two. If they're old enough then get your child their own library card and let them check out their own books. Have a reading corner in the house that has a book shelf, a nice comfortable chair, a reading light and a small table so it's easy and inviting for anybody to want to sit and read. There's a lot we can do to encourage our children to read throughout the summer. If we make it fun and not so much like school work they'll be more likely to want to pick up a book especially if they see their moms and dads reading too.

My son has Dr Seuss board books made for infants which he loves. He sits there and thumbs through the pages as if he's "reading" and loves to chew on the corners of the books.

Learn more about getting your children to read this summer here

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms blogging program to be eligible to get an "I Can Read!" book. For more information on how you can participate, click here.