6 Easy Ways to Keep Your Kids Reading This Summer (Free BINGO Card)

In this post I will be sharing 6 simple ways parents can encourage their kids to keep reading all summer long and including a fun free printable summer reading bingo card to use as a motivator!

Have you heard of the summer slide? Falling out of good reading habits in the summer can mean that kids forget a lot of what they learned. It actually takes an average of 6 weeks in the fall for teachers to get everyone caught up and move on to new content!

I am a big advocate of natural learning patterns. I think summer is a great time to play outside and push academics to the side a bit, but I also don’t want my kids to lose all they have worked so hard to develop over this year!

We love a good solid summer break for our homeschool. However, it is so important to keep your kids reading all summer (and all year round!).

Our homeschool follows the seasons

The heat is here and our daily schedule reflects that. We have wrapped up our schooling for the year but we don’t want to lose all we have built, especially for my kid with learning differences.

I am determined to keep my kids reading and doing simple math to minimize the frustration in the fall when they review things they have already learned for weeks and weeks. I’ll tell you later about my epic plan I have for math. For now let’s focus on reading!

two smiling kids at the lake in the sand

6 Ways to keep your kids reading this summer

Without any further ado, here are my 6 easy ways to help your kids stay literate all summer long.

1. Read aloud

mom in a dress sitting on a patch of clover with a little boy in a striped tshirt on her lap, reading a hardcover book together

I know, I know, I say this all the time! However, there really isn’t a better way. Reading aloud is the single most important thing you can do for your children’s reading success. For summer, I recommend reading a super fun chapter book. Summer is not the time for boring or challenging reads! Summer is the time for easy reads. Pick up a fun fantasy or adventure series to read together or other easy and fun books. Then you don’t keep “forgetting to read” and never finish. And before you ask… Yes, even read aloud to your big kids! For more on the importance of reading aloud, check out Sarah Mackenzie’s book, The Read-Aloud Family.

2. Stash books

Everywhere. Summer is a great time to stash some books in the backseat, in your beach bag, and maybe even in a covered bin by your backyard hammock!

a wicker basket sits on a wooden table by the window. In the basket are children's books.

3. Weekly library visits.

Kids love to select their own books and look through new ones! Scheduling a weekday where you always visit the library is a great way to add much needed structure to summer break. You could make a playdate out of it and invite friends for a park picnic after!

4. New Books Special for Summer

Every June I do a big order of new books from Book Outlet, one of my favourite places to shop for books! Their prices are pennies and we always get a lot of picture books that can be read quickly. If you use my link, you can get $5 off your first order. I also will be doing an Usborne book order through my business and making gift baskets for my kids of new books and activities they’ll love.

5. Audiobooks

I have said it before, and I’ll go ahead and repeat myself: Audiobooks Count As Reading! I do not think I could survive home educating without my Audible subscription. My kids use old locked-down phones and wireless headphones like these to listen to audiobooks during quiet time, down time and car rides. If you haven’t done a trial before you can get a book for free and they have a member’s library with lots of free books available too.

6. Summer Reading Book bingo

graphic with summer book bingo sheets and aqua colored backgroung

Why is the Free Summer Reading Bingo card helpful?

It is a visual tracker for kids who learn visually
The design is bright and colourful to help it be visually appealing
It gives children some external motivation to aid in developing internal motivation
It helps them attain small goals as they go
It helps them learn delayed gratification for a larger goal (completing the BINGO Card)
This card is designed with a variety of levels of challenge, from changing up reading location to reading on different genres and topics
There is something for everyone
This BINGO card can also be used for reading aloud
It can foster some fun and healthy competition in your household
They can even practice reading right on the BINGO Card!

How Do You Use a Summer Reading Bingo Card

Drop your email below to gain access to the BINGO card.
Head to your inbox to confirm and grab your PDF freebie download
Print your favourite colourway.
Have your child personalize their printable.
Laminate it or stick in these awesome reuseable protective pockets.
Pair with these brightly coloured dot stickers or a washable dry erase marker.
Post it somewhere you will see it every day!

Free Printable Summer Reading Bingo Card

This brings me to my freebie for you! I have created a summer reading book bingo card for you to print at home and help motivate your kids to read! We will be making Popsicles and having one every time we check off a box of this bingo card. I think we may do a special outing at the end of the bingo card!

I hope you enjoy your free download! Please let me know if you use any of these strategies or if you have any other great ideas to share about ways to keep your kids reading!

Update: I made a new free printable Nautical Theme Ship Captain’s Logbook for tracking summer reading! I would love it if you checked it out!

No time right now? Pin it for later!

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