Summer Reading challenge for kids

Our summer break has started and it’s so important for the kids to stay on top of their reading over the summer. To make reading fun we’re doing this fun summer reading challenge where the kids can pick a new theme each week to work towards completing their summer reading challenge.

I’ve never been a fan of giving kids a list of books to read and forcing them to read those books. Often times kids can find the books on the list boring and it can cause a struggle with getting them to read. Instead, providing them a list of types of books to read and letting them pick out the book that looks interesting to them will help them to get into reading.

For this summer challenge, there are 16 types of books to read for kids. From reading a menu to reading a history book and everything in between. Summer break has around 10-11 weeks on average and some of these books are easy to read, like a menu or song lyrics, so you can do multiple types of books in one week or day.

How Much Should Kids Read

This is totally up to you, but our kids read for at least 20 minutes every day during summer break. 20 minutes if the suggested guideline from our school and there is a bunch of research supporting that 20 minutes of reading a day for kids is beneficial. Reading can be done with adults, for children who can’t read on their own, or children can read on their own.

Another great way for getting kids to read more is turning on subtitles on your TV because this will have kids reading while watching their favorite shows.

What Books Should Kids read

Kids should read whatever books interest them and are appropriate for their reading level. Take them to a local bookstore or library and let them browse through the children’s section for a book that they’ll enjoy. Maybe it’s a book based on their favorite cartoon or it could be something totally new to them.