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Comment by Soha Molina on June 20, 2012 at 3:35pm

Our public library has an awesome reading program for the summer. I sign up my daughter every year and she keeps us with her reading.

Comment by Lisa on June 15, 2012 at 8:52am

I signed my 9year old up for the summer reading program at our neighborhood library.  He loves to read and I have found if we start a series of books he cannot stop until he has read every one of them.  He read all 13 Lemony Snicket books.  Loved them so much he read one a day until he finished.  His bed time is 8:00pm.  I let him read for 1/2 hour each night before he falls asleep.  If he really loves a book he is reading, he will bring it with him in the car, to a restaraunt and he will even read while he is walking from the car to his destination.  Getting our kids to love books and reading is the best thing we can do for them.  It keeps them entertained without tv and opens their minds to new and unique situations and experiences. I am so happy my son has a true love of books and reading.

Comment by Tara Overby on June 14, 2012 at 2:57pm

Our library has a summer reading program so I signed my daughter up and each book I read to her gets us closer to the prize for reading 40 books, baseball tickets! My daughter, 2 years old, loves books and I can never say no when she wants a new one! Since she was 6 months old I have been taking her to the library for story time and she loves it. I really think this helped develop her love for books.

Comment by Jennifer Murphy on June 12, 2012 at 8:10pm

I have three boys aged 18,16, and 4. I have been reading to my children since before they were born. I have found that the more you read to them the better they do in school and their imagination grows as they do. Have given most of the books my childern have out grown to their schools for their reading programs it is both nice to see other children get to read the books my boys loved, but knowing others are learning from these gifts is wonderful.

Comment by Jessica Wolstenholm on June 12, 2012 at 6:36am

We go to the library regularly and have joined their reading program. I find a fresh influx of books always helps to keep kids reading. My 4yo loves to "read" and make up her own stories to the pictures. It really uses her imagination!

Comment by Vicki Fuhrmann on June 12, 2012 at 12:35am

My kids ages are 12y, 8y, 7y, and 4y. I read to my oldest a lot when she was little and we made a routine no matter where we were or what was going on I would read to her and when she was learning she would read to me. We continued that routine when child #2 was born but then while practicing reading we found out she had a speech delay. So instead of reading the stories (as sometimes she would get frustrated) I would sing them to her. She had no problem with repeating what is being sung. Eventually she was able to identify that the words in the story are the same as those in the song. We would be eating and I would sing the cereal box to her; it helped her stretch out the sounds and the combination letters. Again did the same routine with child #3 but same thing she had a speech delay but it was a bit worse; so again I would sing to her instead of reading the story. I also, did A LOT of flashcards because she would also get frustrated during a story (whether I read it or sang it and she would try the same) so we did flashcards and The BIG books with the word and the matching picture. That way her frustrations were minimal and her love for reading grew instead of decreasing. My 4th child, of course we did the same routine as my other 3 plus the singing instead of reading but my 4th child was born with a cleft lip and palate. As I continued to read to him, through books and flashcards, but I also used games like UNO to teach colors and numbers and turned it into a matching game instead. We also, would teach sign language but when he was able to talk, he would sign but if he wanted something like milk he would have to sign it but also try and say it. Whatever room we were in I would point to the door, window, sofa, etc. so he became familiar with his surroundings but also when we were reading he would be able to connect them to the story. He cannot read by himself just yet as he is still learning sounds but he can identify more than his speech therapist could have imagined. He is able to put sentences together and he is able to tell a short story with a beginning middle and end. He knows when to use he or him, her or she, tall or big, small or short. He loves it when we read together and he will say words he knows, when we get a new book I will read it to him once then we will read it again but this time he will look at the pictures and create his own story. My kids and I play the ABC game often or we are counting or when we are talking we will discuss if that was past present or future. We go through a lot of books. My oldest had to do something this year in school, where she would read a couple chapters and then pick out 3 words that she didn't know and look them up find the correct definition, then write another sentence using that word. She is out of school for the summer but she still does that and I encourage my other kids to do the same, I of course help them looking up words (they aren't aloud to use the computer, I think investing in a big dictionary, thesaurus and encyclopedias is a great one). My oldest likes to read the dictionary to learn new words. When I would give baths, we would play word games and rhyming games. We all do homework together, as whatever one is learning it will be beneficial to all. We spell everything and stretch it out to hear the sounds. That may sound a bit crazy but it helps because once they understand the sounds and what is silent they are able to read those words. It's all about making it fun and the stories my kids like are ones they can take something from. But don't get me wrong they love using their imaginations. Instead of watching movies or TV shows they put on plays or listen to music and make up dance routines. My girls write their own stories or if they have bad dreams they write them in the 'bad dream' notebook and sometimes draw a picture with it. This may seem irrelevant but without the use of words and expression they wouldn't be able to put their bad dreams on paper. And that's exactly where they stay they never have that bad dream again. They do put their good dreams in the good dream notebook. Reading and writing is a good thing no matter what level the child is at.

Comment by Hillary on June 11, 2012 at 11:13pm

Denise, those are such great ideas - thank you for sharing them here.  It seems like a challenge to sometimes keep certain children reading during their vacations but it is so important. 

Comment by Jennifer on June 11, 2012 at 10:51pm

I have a 2 1/2 yo boy. He loooves books. He doesn't like me
To read to him though. My husband and I have been trying to find creative ways to get him to enjoy the actual stories and not just the pictures. So now we make up our own stories to fit the pictures. It has slowed his fingers from flipping the pages so fast and given us the opportunity to actually teach him while having fun :)

Comment by Denise Conradsen on June 11, 2012 at 8:33pm

My oldest is 32 and youngest is 10, Reading at bed is good habit we started early. To keep them interested I read with a funny accent or take on the voice of one of the characters in the books, my youngest can't wait for his turn to read and try out an accent. I encourage reading by subscribing to Lego magazines, buying them books as rewards and giving chapter book sets as gifts. On the weekends we build a blanket fort in the living room and read by our lanterns.  Great book recommendation "Peter and the Star Catchers" by Dave Barry.  My middle child was known in High School as the "Book Girl" as she was never without a book.

Comment by Jessica on June 11, 2012 at 4:11pm

As a kid, I loved the different reading challenges that my school sent us home with each summer.  I think it would be great to create weekly challenges in your own home (read 50 pages, read with a friend, write your own book, etc) and have fun prizes for each challenge completed. 

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