How to keep your kids reading during the summer

As a Reading teacher, I can’t stress to parents enough how important it is to read or have your children read at home in general, but, especially during summer. The benefits of this are outstanding, and I promise your kids will appreciate it when reading at school is easier!

And I don’t just mean fight and force your kid to read. I mean for you to grow a love for reading in your children! 

These are the 5 ways I have been able to grow a love for reading in my children. My 2 youngest can’t read yet, but they do enjoy being read to, and my 9-year-old not only loves reading but is incredibly good at it! It’s also her best subject in school. When your kid has a good comprehension in reading they can be really strong in other subjects as well.

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Here are 5 easy ways to get your kids interested in reading this summer

1. Make reading hands-on

1. • We do this every summer and it has been a huge hit in our home! The Mouse and friends series, which includes books like “If you give a pig a pancake” and “if you give a moose a muffin”! They are short and cute, and we use these to incorporate them with reading. I have most of the entire series and we read the book, then we either buy or bake what the book is talking about. I highly recommend getting the entire set! It’s a better value, and gives you plenty of options for the summer! You can find it here.
   • You can do this with other books as well like “Green Eggs and Ham”
   • My kids really pay attention to the book and love eating the tasty treat as we read it! We did this the first few weeks of summer and it’s always a great kick-off to our summer reading!
   • It’s honestly become one of my kid’s favorite summer things and they always get excited to see what book and treat we’re doing for that day!

     

     

2. Compare books to their movies

• • With my older daughter, we read chapter books together. This helps keep her brain in gear during summer. I also used to do this with my high school kids. It’s a great motivator to get them through those long books
  • Compare and contrast. Everyone knows the book is always better than the movie! So we do a little comparison, we read the chapter book then watch the movie that goes along with it and make a big movie night. I love when my daughter can point out the big differences and when I hear “The book is so much better”
  • You can do this with little ones and Disney books as well!
  • Preteen book suggestions that have movies (our favorites):
    • Wonder
    • Charlotte’s Web
    • The Bridge to Teribithia
    • A Wrinkle in Time
    • Matilda
    • The Chronicles of Narnia
  • Older teen book suggestions that have movies:
    • The Outsiders
    • To Kill a Mockingbird
    • Of Mice and Men
    • Where the Red Fern Grows
    • Harry Potter series
    • Hunger Games series

      

      

3. Library trips and rewards

• • Yall! Take your kids to the local library! They love it! Make it fun and exciting that they get to pick their own books, we also do a sticker system. If they read so many books then we take a trip to Barnes N Nobles and they get to pick a book they want to add to our home collection and keep! 
  • I’ve learned with 3 kids, rewards go a LONG way! Don’t be scared to reward your kids for reading!

4. Reading outside

1. • It’s summer! Take advantage of the nice weather and read a book outside as a picnic. We use this during some of our snack times. I will cut up fruit, lay out a blanket in the yard or at the park and everyone picks a short book for us to read together. They enjoy the fresh air, snacks, and books! (On this day we grabbed quick donuts and head to the park. we’re in Texas and the Texas sun does not play so get outside early!)
   • It helps with focus if the book is somewhat related to the outdoors. Maybe it’s a book about birds, and then you point out birds. I’ll admit this one requires patience when there’s little ones involved (they tend to get distracted by literally everything outside!) We read “Summer Colors” and were able to talk about all the colors we saw outside and the different seasons!
   • Again, offer those rewards, once we get done with these two books (ok, let’s be honest it’s usually ONE when it comes to my 4 year old!) then you are free to play! Pick SHORT books, then let those kiddos run free!

     

5. Book buddies

1. • Lastly, another teacher hack. Do your kids have way too many stuffed animals you aren’t sure what to do with? Make them book buddies!
   • Put those stuffed animals into their own basket and when it’s time to have the reading time they get so excited to pick a “book buddy” someone who gets to listen along with them.
   • This isn’t a big thing with my 9-year-old anymore so instead her book buddies are her little siblings. My daughter wants to be a teacher and gets so excited when she takes over reading time as the “teacher.” She gets to use these moments to read to her siblings. She LOVES telling them to pay attention!

     

     

     

These tips on keeping your kids reading this summer will make reading enjoyable to your kids, it will create lasting memories with them (my daughter still talks about when I first started “If you give a pig a pancake” with her and made pancakes for the first time. On top of all of these, you will see huge improvements in your kid’s reading.

Get your kids to love reading

If you are curious about your kid’s comprehension. Ask a few questions after the book!

The best way to know if your kid is really listening while you read is to be interactive with the text and ask questions or make comments as you read. You could even point out things as you read. As a parent reading to little ones you also have to make reading fun and exciting in your tone to keep their attention.

Now, this isn’t to say that there won’t be hard days because there will definitely be days where your kids want nothing to do with books. That is ok, do not force your kids to read these days. This will cause resentment towards reading when we are trying to create a love for reading. Do not use reading as a form of punishment.

When students don’t like reading, it’s usually because they aren’t very good at it or they don’t understand it, and that’s a lack of comprehension. By practicing with them and modeling good reading you could help your child overcome this. If you are someone who doesn’t enjoy reading yourself there are apps and tools to have your kids read to. You can find audiobooks online.

And in the end, if you find yourself fighting with your kid more than enjoying their time or having success, well then leave it to their teachers, enjoy your summer with your kids, and just keep it rollin’!

Be sure to check out Rollin’ with the Rendon’s other blog posts to help you keep your sanity this summer! 🙂

XOXO,

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy for more information. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

How to survive standardized testing time, and get our kids ready!

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy for more information. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

There are teachers all over Texas giving final reviews for the STAAR test. And unfortunately, there are kids all over Texas counting down the days and becoming more anxious by the minute. Now I realize standardized testing is not just Texas, but I will be specific to Texas since I am a Texan, (yeehaw! JK we don’t actually say that ha). But, this blog can be useful for any test your children are taking.

This is my daughter’s first year to take the dreaded STAAR test. In Texas that is our standardized test, the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness. Of course, her anxiety is already through the roof. One of the many things I hate about the STAAR.

As an educator I give a STAAR test, this year I will test my 8th graders in the Reading STAAR so STAAR season has been extremely stressful in our household. Trying to calm my own kiddo and my students, and trying to not play into the fact that my student’s scores could be a direct reflection of my teaching all year.

It’s fine. This is fine. We’re all fine.

With that said I found a few things that are helpful when it comes to helping my daughter through this challenging school time. Small things that will help her anxiety about the test, things that will show her that we as her parents are not defining who she is by this test, and most importantly that regardless of scores we are proud of her.

I hope these few tips and tricks can also help your students feel more prepared and less anxious about their standardized test!

6 things you can do to help your child survive standardized testing time. 

1. Practice.

1. • In Texas, you can access these past STAAR tests on the internet. Just scroll down find your child’s grade, and the subject you want to access.

   • Now from a teacher’s perspective, we sometimes use these released tests in class, and as practice tests throughout the school year. You might check with your child’s teacher to ensure you aren’t pulling the same testing year. 

   • I printed off the Reading and Math old STAAR test and we looked at questions together. During this time she’s able to ask me questions and we can really break apart the questions. The biggest part about the test is figuring out WHAT THE QUESTION IS ASKING.

   • After a while, I’ll have her answer some of the questions on her own and I’ll check them. When she gets them right it’s a real boost of confidence, when she misses them we’re really able to dive into why. (The answers are online also!)

2. Testing goody basket.

• • • I made the below testing basket, my daughter’s love language is positive affirmations and gift-receiving these were the perfect mixtures of both! She absolutely loves when we show our love and appreciation for her! And what kid doesn’t love presents? Here are some examples of things I put in for her:

      • Pop its (the latest fidget toys kids like) she’d been asking for one for a while, and my mom found these cute ones at a shop in Dallas, but you can also get them on amazon.

      • Cute snacks, with clever tags. I decided to just use the clever tags in one card for her to keep later. You can also do individual ones, and there are a ton of cute ones like this one on Pinterest.

      • She’s a typical 9-year-old girl and really likes Starbucks, so a cute Starbucks drink.

      • Smart water (because I thought it was cute, and it’s good for them to have water during testing!)

      • Bath bombs and face masks for her “relaxing night” the night before the test (keep scrolling for info on that)

      • And a “lucky charm” now this can be anything, my kiddo is personally into jewelry so I decided to make it a bracelet.

3. Weekend before.

1. • Try not to do too much the weekend before the STAAR take this time to really focus on your kiddo and their needs.

   • Stray away from screen time if weather permitting go on a walk, just let them talk, and you listen. Even if it isn’t about the test!

   • My daughter is 9 and really into “spa days”. We did our nails, a face mask, and I got her new bath bombs for her bath the night before.

4. Morning of.

• • • As a teacher and mom of 3, our mornings are chaos, and some days we’re barely making it out of the door on time. For the testing day, I will cook breakfast the night before so I can just warm it up for her that morning. 

    • Side note, schools are usually really good about having students eat breakfast before a test, but if your kiddos are picky eaters like mine you want to make sure they have a full belly!

    • This is the one morning that I want to make sure to make peaceful, and relaxing.   

    • Avoid all conflict. My kids love conflict in the morning from not finding their toothbrush to their hair hurting or socks not fitting right. This morning I try to plan for all potential conflicts!

    • Have your kid dress comfortable, they will be testing for a big chunk of the day.

5. Night before. 

1. 1. 1. 1. • Make sure the night before the test is relaxing. Suggest a bath, let them relax, throw in a bath bomb, and make sure they get PLENTY OF SLEEP, they NEED to go to bed early.

            • I do double french braids on my daughter at night and then we don’t have to hassle with hair in the morning just a quick spritz of hairspray and we’re on our way.

            • Have them pick out comfortable clothes the night before to have ready to go.

6. Pray 

• • • • • • Finally, we pray about it. My daughter and I ask God to put peace in her heart and mind.

          • We don’t pray for passing scores, we don’t pray for the test to be easy. All we do is pray for God to calm her mind, and bring forth her knowledge.

Overall, I want to remind parents and their kids that test scores do not define your children or their intelligence. I have seen brilliant kids fail the test, and I have seen struggling kids pass the same test.

I pray that eventually, our system will come up with a new way to test our kid’s “academic readiness” but until that day comes we just have to keep it rollin’!

Don’t forget to read our other blogs for tips and tricks! We’re all in this together mamas! 

XOXO, 

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy for more information. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.