Magic Tricks to Encourage Reading

My kids love to use the computer, (or kindle, or anything electronic!)  So, when it comes to reading, sometimes you have to get a little creative.  Fortunately I found some solutions that seem to work for my children… My children are currently 2, 4, 7, 9,  and 11 years old ad they all like these little tricks I use.

Magic Tricks to Encourage Reading

 Magic Trick #1  -It is extremely important that you find content that your child likes to read.    I  find it is easy to have free content they love to read by ordering magazines! Abracadabra….  each month Highlights Magazine arrives in my mailbox! I remember as a child I would actually look forward to the Dentist office because of the “Hidden Pictures”that I would find in the Highlights Magazine.  I also loved that there was a magazine just there for me to read – not my mom or my dad..but ME!

Now, as a mom, I love it when the Highlights arrives in the mail.  The kids get super excited and immediately they start reading it!  Fresh, fun reading content delivered right to my door….and the kids LOVE IT.

My top 5 Reasons I love Highlights Magazine (in no particular order)..

1)  Makes a great birthday or Christmas gift.. – kids get excited for fresh new reading content for the entire year!
2)  Three different levels of Highlights Magazines… The two year old, the 4 and 6 year old AND the 9 and 10 year old ALL get to enjoy fresh new reading content in the mail.
3)  It is a classic….fun memories arrive in the mail!
4) Simple stories for little people, Engaging fiction and nonfiction for my bigger kids.
5)  Hidden Pictures…and other fun puzzles that help the brain think.

If your kids are too old for Highlights, check out the great suggestions for magazines for Teens… . from Comic Books to Skateboarding Magazines and beyond.    You can definitely find content for any age reader.  I just love when I don’t even have to think about helping them find content -content comes to them…they get excited when they get it, and they immediately open it and start to read it! You can definitely find content for any age reader. I just love when I don’t even have to think about helping them find content -content comes to them…they get excited when they get it, and they immediately open it and start to read it!

Reading Trick #2 –  Secondly, if you can’t beat them, join them!  If they love technology, they why not encourage reading on technology! I found a way that you can read books on your computer for FREE!   How do we do this?  I download the FREE Kindle  Reader on all of our computers/tablets!  Then I search for books for them to read and they can read the books on the FREE Kindle Reader!

Now you can Read eBooks using the FREE Kindle Reading App on Most Devices

After I get the kindle reader I just look for books on amazon and you can add them to that reader with just one click.  Here are a few good books I found…  some of the books may even be free – I love searching for good deals on great Childrens books!

Books for Kids: 100+ Knock Knock Jokes for Kids (Funny Jokes for Kids): Funny Jokes – Kids Jokes – Funny Jokes for Kids – Knock Knock Jokes (Knock Knock Joke Series)Llama Llama Red PajamaGreen Eggs and HamWiggly the Worm: Bedtime Stories for Kids (Fun Time Series for Early Readers)Peppa Goes Swimming (Peppa Pig)The Kissing HandThe New Girl: The Extraordinarily Ordinary Life of Cassandra Jones (Walker Wildcats Year 1)Fox in Socks (Beginner Books)Children’s book: I LOVE TO KEEP MY ROOM CLEAN (book for kids, Beginner readers, Bedtime stories for children, short stories for kids): (childrens books) … stories children’s books collection 5)Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?The Cat in the Hat

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Reading Trick #3 –  Make sure you get to the root of why a child does not want to read.  Reading is magical and  many children who do not like to read do not like to read because they are struggling in some way.  Do they  not understand/comprehend what they are reading?  Is what they are reading too hard for them?  We believe completely in making sure a child has confidence in reading.  A confident reader loves to read.  A reader who struggles does not like or want to read.  Here is some information on how to help a struggling reader (for free).  OR, if you are trying to help a classroom of struggling readers, check it out here!

Reading trick #4 – This one is sort of bribery, but… honestly, I have found it really works!  When my brother was 11 years old he wanted a bike.  My mom, frustrated that he was not reading enough, offered him a deal.  For every page you read, I will give you a penny.   You can earn the bike penny by penny.   She matched him for each penny he read…  (so he got 2 pennies/page).  My brother to this day claims he never worked so hard in his life!  She would quiz him on what he was reading…  and believe it or not, it started a good habit of reading when the summer was over.  I have tried this with my own little boy when he is really struggling to pull out a book.   A quarter out of my pocket later and he has read 50 pages, forgotten the deal, and continues to pull out books, magazines, or find books on his kindle reader to read!

Between these 4 tricks, I have had no trouble getting my 5 children to read ….  and love reading.

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