This post is part of an ongoing. Click to find ideas for reading activities, reading lists, and reading incentives.and keep checking back for more!I love to read. And I want my kids to love reading, too. I also want to keep their minds sharp during their summer vacation. One of the best ways to accomplish both things is to get them reading as much as possible over the summer, though that can be easier said than done.My girls-like most children-are eager to have summer. They want to go to the beach and play outside and watch as much television as they possibly can.
Reading is not often at the very top of their lists, though all of them enjoy reading. So I have a few tricks up my sleeve to keep them motivated to read, and once they're into a book I usually don't have to remind them. Join Summer Reading ProgramsAs soon as school is out for the summer, our local library has a summer reading kick-off party. It includes crafts, storytime, and ice-cream and my girls love it. Anyone can sign up for the program-adults too!-and you earn 3 prizes throughout the summer as you complete your reading list, which is a little different for every age group/reading level. We earn a new book ( my favorite!), a free ice-cream cone, and a swimming pass. The girls can't wait for library day whenever they know they've got a prize coming.Our local bookstore also has a reading incentives program, so we do that one as well.
Check out your local library and bookstores to see what they offer, because they most likely have something going on to motivate your children to read. Many national companies also run cool reading programs, some of them online so you don't necessarily have to have one in your area to participate. Saving with Shellie has compiled an.Read With Your ChildrenWe ( try to) have an hour each day where all of us ( except maybe The Maestro if he is at work) go outside on the deck and read. It's my favorite time during summer days because I get to sit out in the sun and read with my favorite people in the world. And it's something they look forward to doing as well.I also read to them every night during the summers. We've read many books this way, and not only does it help get them excited about whichever book we're reading, it helps them go to sleep, too. Which is not an easy task when the sun stays up until 11:30 pm!
A couple summers ago I read a few of the books with them in preparation for in DeSmet, South Dakota. I adored these books as a child and it was so fun to share them with my children.Help Your Children Organize a Book ClubWe have done a summer book club for our girls and their friends for two summers now, and they really love it. So far, only Bria and Chloe have done it, but Sophia is going to have one of her own this year. Not only do my girls love it, their friends really enjoy it, too.It's basically an excuse to have a super fun party ( I mean, that's kind of why I love my own book club) and we do make it fun.
We do a craft based on the book, have a discussion, play some games having to do with the book, and eat something yummy. Last year, Chloe and her friends read and!We are in the planning stages for this summer's book clubs right now. We still have three weeks of school left, and we want to have the invitations handed out by the last day of school. We can't wait!Make Your Own Reading RewardsEvery time my girls finish a book during the summer, they fill out one of these little tags and put it in the little bucket in their reading bins ( -scroll down a bit). I totally agree with summer reading!
Kids lose the 'lessons' so fast. My daughter was on 'track schedule' which was 9wks on 3 weeks off. It was horrible for retention!
My son's speech therapist has wisened up to extending therapy through the summer. With a fatter wallet too. =) I have always asked my kids to read every day over the summer before playing video games and such. Not always successful- but I've been consistent with the intention of having them read over the summers! Great blog topic.
JPOur best reading month is July when we go tech-free for the entire month at our house. Of course they read throughout the year, but I highly recommend trying an entire month without tech, it is incredible. We'll be having our 4th consecutive year this summer, can't wait! (FYI, I check email in the morning and night since much of the kids' summer sports and events are communicated online and of course I answer my phone, no Facebook, surfing the net, pinterest, nothing, and all tv, gaming systems, iPods are packed away for the month and we enjoy life).
AnitaboeiraThis is so cute. I was an avid reader as a kid, actually, so avid, that I didn't even need any incentives not to read, I actually needed incentives to STOP reading. There's nothing more rewarding than the adventures inside a book.
I think leading by example is powerful for kids, I probably read so much because both my parents did so too, we had a house full of books and my dad would always spend countless hours at the bookstore.The book club idea is gold too. I have no kids, but I have friends with young kids that love reading and I must pass this idea on to them!
Whether you are running a traditional summer reading program or moving toward a, incentives—and how they are earned—are an important part of your planning. But incentives have the potential to eat up a large chunk of your summer reading budget, so it is important to ask yourself what purpose they serve. Are they to motivate families to come to the library, register for your summer program, or foster a love of reading and learning over the summer and beyond? Once you answer this question, you can ensure that the prizes you offer are fulfilling your program’s purpose.To help you decide what to do about prizes this summer, we will look at types of motivation, how prizes influence those motivations, and some ideas for prizes that support your program’s goals. Extrinsic vs Intrinsic MotivationMotivating behavior in humans isn’t too difficult. If you offer something of enough value for something of equal or lesser value in return, some percentage of people are going to show up to claim it. It’s the old “carrot on a stick” or, to put it bluntly, bribery.
This is extrinsic motivation, a transaction based on rewards and incentives.Likewise, if you are trying to drive sign-ups or some other quantitative metric for your summer program, enticing external incentives—toys and trinkets, electronics, coupons, etc.—are likely to achieve that goal in some percentage of your families. It becomes a transaction. The child registers or reports some activity, and the librarian gives him or her the thing.However, recent studies in both library science and in education have shown that if a love of reading or learning is your goal and you want that activity to continue beyond your summer program, extrinsic motivators must be chosen carefully. You don’t want a child to stop reading or participating after the motivator is taken away.The intangible love for something—the inner drive that makes us want to do an activity with no external reward—is known as intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is self-generated, done for pleasure and personal reward.
It’s the basis of hobbies and passions and interests. If lasting enjoyment of reading and learning is your summer program’s goal, promoting intrinsic motivation is also your goal.Obviously, not every child can be convinced or trained to read solely from inherent personal motivation.
Summer Incentive Program
Summer Reading Programs Near Me 2019
If that were the case, we would have no reluctant readers! But research and practice have shown that using the right kinds of extrinsic motivations, like prizes, can have an effect on a child’s ability to find the intrinsic motivation to continue reading and learning after summer is over. Individual Prizes for Intrinsic MotivationThe compromise between giving toys and trinkets for reading and doing away with prizes altogether, according to research, is to relate the prizes to the behavior you want to see.