I’ve always loved to read, but unless it was required for school, I never kept a list of what I read. My friend Amber posts about what she’s read (or going to read) and she motivated me to start keeping my own list last year. I’ve really enjoyed keeping track of my reading because it motivates me to keep up with it—usually!—and I also have a horrible memory, so if I’m trying to think of a book I enjoyed and I can at least remember what time of year I read it, I can narrow it down fairly quickly. I need to start keeping track of our read-alouds, too, because more than once I have pulled out a book only to have my son inform me that we read it two years ago!
My son is a good reader, too, but he tends to go in spurts. Sometimes I have to tell him to put down his book and get other things done and other times I have to keep on him about reading time. This year I am going to have him keep a reading log so that he will hopefully be motivated to keep up a steady pace. Here are a few sites and printables I found while searching online that I hope will help you, too!
- Reading Challenges: My friend Ami has some great ideas for getting her boys to read and I love that she always has great printables to share, too! In this post she includes forms for a 100 Book Reading Challenge, a Genre Reading Challenge, and a 300 Book Reading Challenge!
- Reading Lists: Sometimes kids (and adults) stick with one kind of book that they really love. There’s nothing wrong with having a favorite genre or author, but we want them to read a wide variety of literature and non-fiction, and Ami’s Reading List forms are an easy way to do this. You can type in what you are requiring of them—and when they need to have it finished—and they can write in the books they choose on their own.
- Reading Rewards: If you prefer something online, you might want to check out this website that allows kids to log their reading, look for new books, and earn prizes!
- Pizza Hut’s BOOK IT! Program: I used this program when I was teaching in the classroom and homeschoolers can use it, too! You set your child’s reading goal for each month and if he meets it, he can get a free personal sized pizza. This was always a huge hit with my 5th graders!
And of course, there’s nothing wrong with making a list of what you’ve read in a spiral notebook you already have at home! However you choose to do it, I encourage you to have your kids keep track of their reading and challenge them to see if they can read even more!
