Six Tips To Motivate Kids To Read During the Summer #DisneyStoryCentral

Six Tips to Motivate Kids to Read During the Summer

I love books. Paper books, hardback books, e-books, and interactive books… it doesn’t matter. I love them all.

And, I want my kids to love the written word, too. Igniting a love of reading might be the most important thing I can do for my children.

Six Tips To Motivate Kids To Read During the Summer #DisneyStoryCentral

It can be a challenge to motivate kids to read during the summer, though. Routines are disrupted, and the neighborhood comes alive from early morning until late at night with all the kids out for summer break.

Here are six tips to motivate your kids to read during the summer:

Just Add Books

Summer brings lots of chance to try new things – summer camps, nostalgic activities, and sports events. Why not add a book element to the things your kids have coming up? Read together about kids going to camp for the first time. Grab some books about an upcoming vacation destination. Pull out a pile of books, head to the backyard, and read under the apple tree.

Six Tips To Motivate Kids To Read During the Summer #DisneyStoryCentral

Be a Joiner

Public libraries have wonderful summer reading programs your kids can join. Most of them include weekly check-ins where kids can earn prizes. Some even have author events or other programs. Get your kids the library card they’ve always wanted, and make a weekly date in the stacks.

Model It

Show your kids that you mean what you say. Pull out a book, magazine, or the newspaper instead of reaching for the remote when you have downtime. Then, talk about the great things you’re reading. They’ll be more apt to talk about the books they’re reading.

Six Tips To Motivate Kids To Read During the Summer #DisneyStoryCentral

Find Pockets of Time

Help your kids know that they can read anywhere and everywhere. There is so much going on, though, that they might be tired after all the sports, camps, swimming, play dates and more. Encourage your kids to decompress by reading in the car to and from their events.

Be Novel

We have books available everywhere for the kids, but my five year old is just learning to read, and a bit of a perfectionist who shuts down when things are new or tough. She’s a huge Disney fan, though, so when we heard about Disney Story Central online and for the iPad, we knew we had to give it a try for her.

Six Tips To Motivate Kids To Read During the Summer #DisneyStoryCentral

Fabulous!

She can organize her virtual bookshelf with books about her favorite characters, and can click an option to have the books read TO her while the words are highlighted. Perfect for a beginning reader. We opt to buy a few books at a time using tokens we purchase for around $1 each. Most books cost one or two tokens. If you want to try this with your little ones, they also offer a monthly subscription for $7.99 where your kids can read all they want, anytime they want for that price.

I love the amazing features:

  • Customizable bookshelves for each member of the family with personalized reading recommendations.
  • A “Browse By Character” carousel lets families easily find books starring their favorite character. spanning all Disney Franchises, including Disney Princess, Disney Classics, Frozen, Doc McStuffins, Cars, and more.
  • Personalized book recommendations and character-driven navigation make it easy to find new books.
  • Stars, Ranks, and Trophies reward kids for reading and encourage them to keep it up.
  • A variety of content for pre-readers, speed readers, and everyone in-between.
  • Accessible at home or on the go.

Six Tips To Motivate Kids To Read During the Summer #DisneyStoryCentral

My kids? Well, they love the characters. The girls were especially excited to see eBooks featuring Elsa and Anna, and my two year old was all about the Jake and the Neverland Pirates books. If you have Disney lovers, I highly recommend you check Disney Story Central out to help ignite that love of reading in your little ones this summer.

Read to Them

Finally, whether you read books you have on the shelf or stories from Disney Story Central, read aloud to your kids – not just at bedtime, but throughout the day. Make books a part of your family rhythm and your kids will be motivated to read all the time – not just in the summer.

What are some of your best tips to motivate kids to read in the summer? Share in the comments.

 

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.