How to encourage kids to read complete with downloadable checklist

We have a treat for you today – 14 wonderful ideas to get kids reading over the summer, as part of our reading initiative with Libraries Unlimited who are asking for you to take a look at their Summer Reading Challenge. Don’t forget to enter our giveaway alongside using this checklist. We want as many kids as we can to be reading and having fun this summer! In order to help get kids reading, this checklist has some great ideas to inspire and encourage them all the pick up a book over the holidays and beyond.

We partnered with Libraries Unlimited to share with you 14 great ways to make reading even more fun, and alongside the Gadgeteers Summer Reading Challenge from The Reading Agency, this is a perfect way to encourage your kids love of reading.

How to get kids reading: 14 ideas to try with your children

We’ve got some brilliant ideas here – why not give some of them a go, and scroll down to our checklist to check them off as you do them?

• Pick your most adored scene from a book you loved and read recently, and recreate it using some Lego or cardboard! Then share it on social media so we can all see what you have done on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. Use the hashtag #Mybestbookmoment

• Think of your favourite characters from a book, and then plant a seed when you finish the book. Name the seedling as it grows after that character.

• Get someone in your family, or your teacher / carers to think about what books they enjoyed as a kid, and read one of them to you.

• The spines of books can be so much fun, so why not play about with those as well. Find all the colours of the rainbow in the spines you have for your books and read one with red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet spines. What’s your favourite colour?

• Some kids find it difficult to sit still enough for long enough to read, so why do we have to stay still? Turn the book into a play and perform for your family, friends or even your favourite cuddly toys. If you really want, why not re-write the favourite parts of your books with a little fan-fiction. Keep it sensible though 😂

• Have you heard of the Summer Reading Challenge, why not get involved with it through The Reading Agency. It is possible to sign up through your local library, and this year it is all about the ‘Gadgeteers.’ The focus on on STEM and your kids’ imagination! All you need to do is get your kids to sign up at the library – read six books and collect the amazing stickers and talk about what they have read along the way.

• We all love a good computer game, right? And Minecraft is one of the most popular. Why not combining reading with a little computer fun and draw a minecraft world based on one of the books you have read, or even create it inside the game too?

• Your kids might also want to keep a reading log or a reading diary too of what they are up to over the summer – make sure it’s fun though, so they don’t see it as a chore.

• Read as you travel to make it even more fun – you don’t have to be at home or in the library; you can read anywhere you like. Take a book to the beach, into a wood, or even in the snow! You can even add the pictures of where you have been reading to your reading log or diary.

• Check out the library near you for any local events around reading, they might have reading mornings, or ideas for the local Summer Reading Challenge launch event! Take a look at what’s going on take part to get in the mood.

• There are loads of fun ideas for food in the books that your kids read, so why not get really creative and see if you can make some of the food included within the books. You might need to help your kids, of course. What might the BFG’s snozzcumber taste like? What about making a pile of pancakes like Pippi Longstocking? What about trying some of the fabulous food from the Gruffalo including Gruffalo Crumble too? You’ll find lots of funny foods in children’s books to inspire you.

• Reading doesn’t have to be something that kids do alone, why not start a book club with friends? This can be done at school, at the weekend, or even via Zoom if people live a distance away. We have all become pretty good at getting clubs going without the need to be in the same room as people, haven’t we? Just sitting and chatting about books is a great way for kids to connect.

• If you find reading harder, then why not try something a little different, and perhaps engage with an audiobook when you’re next on a long car journey with the kids? You might be able to borrow audiobooks from your local library, or download one using an app like BorrowBox, Audible (we have a free trial for this for 30 days as an affiliate) or Libby.

• Reading isn’t just about the books, why not try magazines, or perhaps even a comic book. You can then even have a go at making one of your own.

These are all amazing ideas to get your kids reading, so we’ve put together a checklist for you so you can try them all out and show how you are getting on. Why not see if you can complete them all?

How to encourage kids to read checklist

To download this freebie from Libraries Unlimited and KiddyCharts, just click on the button below:

We hope you love this ideas from Libraries Unlimited and KiddyCharts. If you want more ideas for reading, do check these out too:

We really hope you found this resource, and the Summer Reading Challenge from The Reading Agency, and Libraries Unlimited support helpful. Keep on coming back to us!

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Helen

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