Some kids need that little extra push to get inspired to read. As a parent, you may need to use motivation and rewards to get your children reading.
Here are some motivational tools and rewards you can use at home.
Start Your Own Reading Rewards Program
Many schools have reading rewards programs in which students earn points for reading and taking quizzes on the books they’ve read. You can start your own at-home reading rewards program by assigning points to books based on reading level, difficulty and length, and offering prizes for racking up points.
Book Adventure is a free, online reading motivation program for children in kindergarten through eighth grade. Children can take quizzes on more than 7,000 titles and earn rewards.
Take a tip from the Pizza Hut BookIt program and offer your own reward: When each of your children finishes two or three books, the family gets a pizza night out.
Make a Book Chain
Cut strips of construction paper, a different color for each member of the family participating in this activity. When you finish a book, write the title and author’s name on a strip, loop it and staple it in a circle, attaching the loops together into a chain.
Make a different chain for each family member, hang them from a curtain rod, and see whose chain can reach the floor first. Or make one chain for the entire family and make it as colorful as you can!
Movies as a Reward
So many movies today are based on books. Before you let your child go to the theater or rent a DVD, tell him he should read the book first. Comparing and contrasting the book with the movie is a great child-parent conversation starter.
Map Your Books
One of the suggestions in Reading is Fundamental’s Guide to Encouraging Young Readers is to map the books you’ve read. Hang up a map of the world or the country (or both). Using thumbtacks or push pins, have your child mark the location of a book he just finished reading. Attach a small slip of paper with the book title. Watch as your map fills up with markers.
Make a Reading Chart
Let your children help you make reading charts, one for each child. Make it a colorful, creative calendar format or list, where your child can track the pages he’s read each day. Use fun stickers to mark the completion of a book.
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