Encouraging children to read + FREE printable bookmarks

(Scroll down to grab the FREE Printable)

If you have a child who struggles with reading or is reluctant to read, you know how hard it is to motivate them to open a book. It is a chore akin with emptying the bins or cleaning their room and the ONLY reason why they are reading is because they have been told to do it.

Throw in computers, phones, tablets and funny Youtube videos to distract children and it’s even harder to inspire your child to read.

So what do you do?

How do you get a child to read?

Bribe them. Offer an incentive. Challenge them.

Whatever you want to call your gentle persuasion, find a way to entice your child to read. At first they may only want to read to get the prize at the end, but if along the way they fall in love with reading, it’s all worth it.

One of my children was a reluctant reader. He was far too busy doing other things to waste time reading boring books. His incentive was receiving a new book every time he finished one. Being a child that appreciates “new things from the shops” he was keen to start. We found two book series* that had the right amount of text and funny illustrations and he was hooked. He even read two books in one week, which was amazing. And funnily enough, reading isn’t as boring as he first thought and we often hear him giggling as he reads.

* Tree House Series by Andy Griffiths and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney. Great books for 8-10 year old boys.

To encourage children to read I have created two cute little bookmarks featuring a cute little rabbit character named Albert.

One of the book marks has 20 circles that can be marked off as part of a challenge. Choose a reward that will motivate your child and then mark off each circle until the bookmark is complete.

You can use the circles to record…

·         Pages read

·         Books read

·         Chapters read

·         Days of reading

The printable comes with three bookmarks on each page so you can easily repeat the process for more children or new challenges.

The second printable is plain but super cute and will stop your child from using Lego as bookmarks. Yes we have been there!

The printables are available in the FREE printables library. Click below to get access.