Raising Readers: How to Keep Your Kids Reading This Summer

A couple years ago, after returning from a trip to the library, our arms full of books, I perused my kids’ selections. Their choices were vast and varied.

They picked books that were fun and interesting. There were books with great illustrations, a few graphic novels and a couple books related to shows they liked. None of the books were bad exactly and they were definitely motivating reading as my kids parked themselves on the floor, books in hand, as soon as we got home. But I wondered if I could possibly call them a little higher. Beyond just getting my kids to read, how could I inspire them to read good words?

I wondered if I could grow and stretch them here. I wondered if, in and amidst their light and casual reading, I could encourage them to read some books that were richer as well. And that was the birth of the Westenberg Summer Reading Program.

I started by making a list of age appropriate books for each child. I talked through some loose plans with my husband and we were in business. 😉 Now in our third year, our in-home summer reading program varies a bit each year, but it has proven to be just what I was hoping for in encouraging my kids to read great books. And I thought you might be interested in trying it with your kids and grandkids too!

How it works

Each summer begins the same. I make a list of what I consider to be great books for each child according to their current age/reading level (so important!). They are required to read 4 books from that list during the summer. If they choose, they can read more books from the list and be rewarded for it. Simple, right?

There are endless ways to make this work for your family and your budget. Maybe 5 books earns an afternoon at the park and 7 an ice cream date. Maybe 10 books is a movie ticket and 12 is having a friend over. The key is to play to your kids strengths and interests. Figure out what works well for your family and make it fun. 

Why?

There are dozens of great reading programs out there, friends. We have done a few of them in the past and had fun with them. But for me it has been simpler and sweeter to keep this in house. The record keeping is easy and I like the precedent that it’s us, their own parents, motivating and spurring our kids’ reading habits, rather than just the library, pizza joint, or theme park. 😉

In case you want to try this out in your home, I’m sharing my kids’ booklist for this summer and the pretty printable they track their summer reading on. Enter your e-mail on the form below and I’ll send you the link to print them out.

*To give you a point of reference, Brooklyn is about to turn 9, Bailey is about to turn 11 and Tyler is 14. But don’t use these lists to compare kids, friends! These are just ideas to get you started.

Find some good books that you can introduce your kids to, meet them at their own unique reading level, and spur them on to better reading from right where they are. 

I hope you have as much fun with this as we have!

Also, join me on Instagram Stories this afternoon (or in my IG highlights if you are seeing this at a later date) and I’ll talk more about how I choose good books, where I find them and how you can help motivate a struggling reader. Happy reading!