How to make summer reading fun and exciting

In our last post we discussed how important summer reading is for kids.  There's no disputing that, but the kids in your house may disagree.  How many of you hear, "But reading is BORING!" when you try to get someone to sit down with a book?

Here's some ideas for you to keep reading fun and exciting this summer:

1. Participate in a summer reading program that offers incentives for reading.  Marion Public Library has reading records that, when completed, can be turned in for book bucks or other fun prizes.  Barnes and Noble and Borders both have programs where if you read a certain number of books, you get a book for free.
2. Build reading and writing into everyday experiences.  Watch TV with the sound off and closed captioning on; Read directions out loud for how to play a new game; or help with meals by writing up a grocery list, finding things in the grocery store, and reading the recipe aloud for mom or dad during cooking time.
3. Do you have your garden planted yet?  Planting a garden can be a fun activity that has reading incorporated into it.  Check out this activity at Read Write Think.org.  Marion Public Library has some great books about gardening!
4. Take advantage of the warm summer weather.  Take your reading outside, on a blanket under a shady tree or at the beach.  Put up a tent in the backyard and read by flashlight.  Blow up a plastic pool, add pillows, and read in the living room on a rainy day.
5. Dig into a series.  Some great series to choose from:  Junie B. Jones, The Magic Treehouse, Captain Underpants, Artemis Fowl, Harry Potter, Judy Moody; there's many to choose from.  Try browsing through this site--you'll be sure to find something your kids will love.
6. Involve everyone in the family.  Are Grandma and Grandpa coming for a visit?  Ask them what their favorite books were growing up, and check them out of the library before their visit.  
7. Research before going on vacations or day trips.  Heading to the zoo?  Read up on penguins or lions.  Going to the beach?  Find books about oceans or ocean creatures.  Bring the books along, and compare what you've read to what you're seeing.
8. Make reading a daily habit.  Think outside the box--when can you read during the day, instead of before bedtime?  Try having a daily reading time after breakfast or lunch, a time when you can Drop Everything And Read, just like in school.  Don't forget that parents should participate too--even if your child is reading independently, it's good for you to have your nose in a book too!

Hopefully these tips will help you keep your summer reader exciting about opening books this summer.  Happy Reading!