Summer Reading

If your kids are at all like mine, reading is the last thing they want to do during the summer (I actually have one child who would read all day every day but that's not normal). The good ol summer slide as they call it is a real thing - losing ground in their reading ability. So as parents we have to come up with creative ways to motivate them to read. 

Maybe you're struggling to get your kids to read this summer. Or maybe you need some motivation yourself - turn off Facebook and Netflix and pick up a book!  Here's some fun ideas...

Library Summer reading program! 

Go to your local library and ask if they have a summer program! Our library has fun prizes for different levels of hours read. Coupons to Culvers, Bigby, Pizza Hut, Papa Murphy's, Dutch Village, Baseball Games etc. Plus letting kids pick what books they want to read helps them WANT to read. There's prizes for adults too! We go once a week and come home with a big basket of books to choose from!

County Fair

Look on your local fair's webpage and see what they offer. Our county offers free rides at the fair for a certain amount of hours read. 

Local Book Stores

This one is new to me this year. We discovered (thanks to my sister) that both Schuler and Baker Books offer a summer reading program. This one is my kids' favorite because they offer gift cards to the store for hours read. So at the end of summer each kid could earn up to $25 in gift cards - and spend it on whatever they want! Adults can participate too!

One thing I love about the adult reading programs is that it makes me expand my reading preferences. Otherwise I tend to stick to one genre. Need some suggestions? heres a couple of my top picks from this summer so far

As far as non-fiction goes, these two books are fabulous! I wish I had read Parenting years ago- it's not your average parenting book! Flourish was written in response to a book called Girl Wash Your Face. Give it a read, you wont be disappointed.

Fiction books can be harder to choose. I love mysteries but cannot handle gore or scary situations. Patchwork Mysteries have been a fun series. There's about 20 books in the series that I've read last summer and this summer. Clean, light reading, perfect for summer but still gives me that "who done it" thrill!

What are you reading this summer?!