Summer Reading and Children’s Book of the Month Club

As the mom of a new READER (yeah, William!!!), it’s important for me to keep him reading throughout the summer. He’s been working so hard throughout the school year to get the reading thing down and he has done such an incredible job, I am just so proud of him! He loves to read, and it’s been amazing seeing him “lose” himself in a book. I have always loved to read, and there’s nothing like watching a child unlock the beauty, the wonder and the key to reading… it’s fascinating! I don’t want him to lose this reading momentum, so my mother (a retired English teacher and Reading Specialist) has helped me come up with some Summer Reading Tips to keep up with throughout the summer and to share with everyone!

Here are 5 Summer Reading Tips to keep in mind for your child throughout the summer!

1) Library Trips
One of the best things my mother and father did for me when I was a little girl was joining the local library. There was nothing more fun and exciting than heading to the library and being able to find and take home books! My mother would always let me take home 5 books per week, and I would literally lose myself in the Children’s section of my library finding exciting and adventurous books! We would always have our designated Library Day, which was a Monday – and I would have my books for the week! The books were my responsibility and I took it seriously! Nancy Drew was my FAVORITE of all-time to read, and I would get so excited knowing I could take one of those books home each week! I will be doing this throughout the summer with William, too. I’m going to let him pick out 5 books each week and just keep bringing him back week after week after week to find and pick out more and more exciting and different books! It’s such an incredible thing to see your child excited about heading to the library! I love that he sees it as a fun activity, so important!

2) Family Read Alongs
It’s important for the other boys to see how much William loves to read, so I have been having William read a book to them – he LOVES it! It encourages him to keep reading and it allows him to keep practicing his words. I also love it because it’s getting them all into a reading routine, where we all know that William reads at least one of the books in the pile per night. It’s our own little family read along, and it’s a lot of fun!

3) Charting Summer Reading Progress
It’s fun for a child to have a Summer Reading goal. One thing that’s very easy to do is create a reading chart that can be displayed somewhere noticeable in your home. Every time your child finishes a book, add a sticker next to their name. You could have a goal of how many books you would like your child to try and read by the end of the summer. For an older child, you could try for maybe 10 books of 100 pages or more. For younger children, you could have the goal of trying to have them read one book a week. And – as all kids love to do – have a “prize” at the end once they hit their goal! Maybe you could have a Summer Reading Book aParty! Or maybe you could bring them to a bookstore and let them pick out a few new books!

4) Book Swap
You know how there’s clothing swaps? Try a book swap! Invite over some of your child’s friends and have everyone bring some books to swap around with! Books swaps are so much fun because children can leave the party with a brand new library for their house! You could even ask kids to bring 5 books or more! Whatever you feel the most comfortable doing. It’s such a wonderful way to circulate more and more books into homes and to keep Summer Reading going!

5) Family Book
Since my own William is just starting out, there are some books that he would LOVE to be able to read, but he just isn’t there yet. For example, the Harry Potter books – he would LOVE to read these, but he just can’t do it on his own quite yet. But I can! One thing that my mother did with me when I was younger and I am going to start with William, is having 1 book that is just a book you read with your mom and/or dad. Each night you read a certain amount of pages, or a full chapter – but it’s a book that is a family book – it’s read aloud and it’s read with an adult. I know William will be so excited to start into a Harry Potter book and (to be honest) I’m excited, too!

Also – look into Children’s Book of the Month Club.

Discover Children’s Book-of-the-Month Club and choose from a wide selection of bestselling children’s literature, including baby books, preschool books and children’s fiction books. Our book club has top children’s books from popular authors such as Richard Scarry, C.S. Lewis, Roald Dahl, Shel Silverstein and Stephenie Meyer. You’ll find the best new book releases and classic titles, as well as discount books and recommendations from our editors. Children’s Book-of-the-Month Club is the place to order books online.

It’s a FANTASTIC way to bring Summer Reading even more alive in your home throughout the summer. This has been going on for years, and it’s such a fun and cool way to bring books into your child’s life. There’s not only kids books – there’s books for adults, too! You’ll have so much fun seeing the titles and watching your child light up when the books arrive!

And! There’s the awesome Summer Reading Series which is powered by the Children’s Book of the Month Club. You get GREAT savings, it’s super convenient and easy and you’ll have a full summer of great reading! It’s PERFECT!

Check out Andrea’s amazing Summer Reading GIVEAWAY over on Savvy Sassy Moms blog! You could win over $750 worth of Summer Reading items!!!!!