How do you keep your kids reading during the summer? You make it fun!
Check out this list of summer reading activities that will keep your kids engaged all through the lazy days of summer.
Why Are Summer Reading Activities Important?
Reading, like math, is a skill subject. You learn step by step to decode words and read with fluency.
If you don’t practice, your skills will stagnate or, worse, erode.
Summer reading activities make reading time a fun activity, not a chore.
They are a great way to motivate kids to keep their reading skills sharp.
From something as simple as making a tissue paper bookmark craft to trying your hand at Reading BINGO, little activities can have a huge impact!
If you’re looking for free or cheap things to do with kids in the summer, be sure to check out the reading activities below!
7 Elementary Summer Reading Activities
These summer reading activities are perfect for elementary-aged students. Try one, three, or all seven!
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Book BINGO
Is your elementary-aged child motivated by games? Are they task-oriented?
Book Bingo is a FREE printable that gets kids reading different kinds of books.
You don’t have to make your own; you can find it for free in the Freebies Library.
If you aren’t a member of the Freebie Library, you will find it easy to join. Simply click here to sign up.
You’ll have access to loads of games, worksheets, and activities…all 100% free!
Audiobooks While Traveling
There is more than one way to read a book.
Audiobooks offer all the pleasure of a story without the nausea of reading in the car.
They are the perfect way to get hooked on a book series.
Once you reach your destination, you can offer your child the next book in print form.
Audiobooks are also useful for ear reading, which is a huge help for struggling readers.
Create a Summer Book Club
Peer accountability is a wonderful thing.
Start your own summer book club for neighborhood kids or your child’s friends.
Everyone in the club reads the same book and then gets together to discuss it.
You can make book club even more popular with yummy snacks and perhaps a themed activity.
Summer book clubs make reading a social activity; that’s a huge motivator for certain kids!
Community Library Summer Reading Programs
You don’t have to come up with summer reading activities all on your own.
Your local library is here to help!
Summer reading programs often provide incentives for students to read (and some offer serious prizes!).
They may also feature special programs that promote reading.
Register at the start of summer, and start a reading habit that will last all summer long.
Your library may even have weekly events where they share read alouds with their youngest patrons!
Read New Types of Books
We all have our favorite genres or series. Your child may be obsessed with books about dragons, or girls who run their own cupcake business, or time-traveling siblings.
Summer is the perfect time to try something new.
Add a book to your child’s stack that is completely different from his usual selections.
Consider adding poetry. You can choose humorous poem compilations to start, like Where the Sidewalk Ends and I Am Just No Good at Rhyming and Other Nonsense.
Another option: comic books or graphic novels. They combine storytelling with art.
Get out of the box this summer, and encourage your child to try something new!
Readers’ Theater
Why not bring a story to life as one of your summer reading activities?
First step: Get a group of students to read the same story.
Second step: Help them as necessary to turn it into a play!
Some older students may want to take the lead on this activity. They may write scripts and scrounge up costumes.
Younger students may need some more assistance from you.
This activity promotes reading because creative children become quite motivated to delve into a book!
Create a Reading Goal with a Reward
What is it worth to you to have your child gain confidence and practice as a reader?
If it’s worth the investment (and it is), come up with your own Summer Reading Challenge.
All you need is a Reading Check-off Page (you can get one for FREE in our Freebies Library).
Then you set the incentive and check off your child’s progress toward the goal.
Think about what motivates your child. This could be a treat, a game, an activity…even money.
Offer this as a reward for completing the challenge.
You may want your child to read simply because she loves it, but she won’t learn to love it without practice.
A Summer Reading Challenge will get her to practice.
Summer Reading Activities That Will Get Kids Reading
Summertime is perfect for swimming, riding bikes, and taking trips to the park. It’s also a great time to read!
Keep those reading skills sharp with these 7 summer reading activities for elementary students.