Take part in the summer reading challenge 2024!
The holidays are here at last and the summer reading challenge 2024 is GO!
Encourage your kids to get reading over the weeks ahead with 20 fun and creative reading prompts.
The twist to this challenge is that it isn’t about how many books they can read; it’s about reading more often whilst having fun. Even if their summer is jam-packed with activities, they can join! Little and often for the win!
Note: I planned to publish this earlier in the week, but the first full week of the summer hols has been much busier than expected. I’m chuffed that some new families have reached out for me to work with their children over the break. Plus, there’s a heatwave and it’s sweltering in my cabin and my laptop is struggling!
Although we are now a few days in, there’s still plenty of time for your kids to enjoy this challenge. And let’s be honest, there are bound to be some rainy days to fill!
What is the summer holiday reading challenge 2024?
I love a reading challenge, and regularly take part in them myself. One of the things I have noticed is that kids who take part in reading challenges tend to already be bookworms who don’t necessarily need extra encouragement. Children who are less inclined to read for pleasure sometimes start challenges but don’t tend to get very far with them before getting frustrated and giving up.
Why is that?
I think it might have to do with most reading challenges being overwhelming for children who aren’t voracious readers. Reading challenges are usually designed around how many books you can read. Most children who aren’t bookworms don’t want to read a tonne of books over the summer.
This reading challenge is a bit different because it doesn’t matter how many books they read. It doesn’t even matter if they don’t finish any books. That’s because I want to encourage kids to read whatever they want – and have fun whilst they do it! So, they could choose to read anything they want. Anything goes, from reading their latest console game instructions; baking cookies using a recipe or reading a leaflet to learn about an attraction you are planning to visit. They can even read the back of a cereal packet as they eat breakfast if they like!
So, if you have a little bookworm, they can read as much as they like, but let’s remove the challenge barrier for the non-bookworms and encourage them to read – a little, but often.
What kind of prompts are in the challenge?
Typical reading challenge prompts are whole-book focussed. Popular examples include: ‘Read a book with an animal as a main character’, or ‘Read a book that features magic’. Children can find prompts like these quite limiting or even offputting. What if they don’t like animal books and have no interest in magic? Case in point: I’m taking part in a challenge with a prompt that says, ‘Read a book with a main character who’s 42 years old’, which makes me want to skip it. How do you even find a book that specific?
This summer reading challenge doesn’t limit reading choices, but it does suggest how they could read.
Here’s a little taster of some of the 20 prompts:
- Read something with a cool cover
- Read in a blanket fort
- Read something to learn a new skill
- Read some jokes and share them
- Read something you’ve borrowed
Hopefully, these prompts are much more manageable, motivating and fun!
How to take part in the summer reading challenge 2024
Taking part is fun, easy and free!
I’ve designed the challenge as a printable bookmark with a summer themed front to colour in and 20 challenge prompts on the back.
Here’s how to get started:
- Follow the download instruction below
- Print the document
- Cut out the bookmark
- Fold the two parts and glue them
- Colour it in
- Get reading!
Finally, I would really love to see photos of the challenge in action! You can share photos with me on instagram by using the hashtag #PPKSummerReadingChallenge and tagging me @PositivePrimaryKids. Alternatively, you can email your photos to gemma@positiveprimarykids.com.
How to download
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