I don’t know about your kids, but mine would much rather be outdoors — biking, hiking, running, swimming — than indoors, reading. But the slowdown of most summer homeschool schedules is the perfect time to speed up the amount of time your students spend enjoying adventurous books.
There will likely be hot, humid days.
There will likely be rainy days.
There will likely be some road trips/field trips/vacations that require time in the car.
There’s always bedtime reading, too.
So don’t forget to fill that book basket with books for summer reading. And if your kids need a little incentive, here are Ten Summer Reading Programs to inspire them!
1. Your Local Libary Most all public libraries launch a summer reading program in May or June. Ours gives the kids a reward that includes a new backpack filled with coupons for food, ice cream, and local sites/museums, just for reading 10 books!
2. Scholastic Summer Challenge With this challenge, your kids can log their reading minutes and win prizes, including digital books and downloads of audio book chapters. You’ll find an online time tracker and age-appropriate book suggestions, too.
3. Barnes and Noble’s Imaginations’ Destination Your kids can win a free book, after reading 8 with this summer reading program. You can download their exclusive kit for additional activities, a reading log (in English and Spanish), as well as book suggestions.
4. Half-Price Books Feed Your Brain In both June and July, your kids can win $5 in HPB Back to School bucks for reading for 15 minutes a day for a month (300 minutes). Download reading logs and an awards certificate.
5. Showcase Cinemas Bookworm Wednesdays Your kids can get free admission to a select children’s film every Wednesday, when they present a book report at a participating Cinema de Lux, Showcase, or Multiplex cinemas box office.
6. Military Libraries Reading Is So Delicious For those of you in the military, 250 base and installation libraries around the world are participating in a shared summer reading program with a yummy theme!
7. PBS KIDS Summer Reading Challenge Keep your kids reading all summer long with free and fun activities and materials from iVillage and PBS KIDS, beginning June 18. There’s a printable kit that includes reading lists, fill-in story sheet, stickers and a book mark, to get you started.
8. Book Adventure Not just for summer reading, Book Adventure is a fun, free way to motivate your child to read! Kids in grades K-8 can find a book, take quizzes on what they’ve read, and earn prizes for their reading success.
9. Pizza Hut Book It! In Book It’s Summer Reading Challenge Sweepstakes, kids who read 5 books may enter for a chance to win a “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” prize package. If you haven’t already signed up for the regular Book It! rewards program, you may do so here. Who doesn’t love free pizza?
10. Set up your own Summer Reading Challenge None of these programs incentive enough for your child? Then set up your own Summer Reading Challenge for your family. You make the rules, you pick the prizes. It’s that simple.
While you’re looking for books for your kids to read, be sure to check out my list of Free Kindle Books for Kids. There are more than 100 classic, wholesome, amazing books for kids of all ages!
What other summer reading programs have you heard about? Leave a link in the comments, and I will add them here!
Tyndale Summer Reading Program (thank you, Sarah!)
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