Tip #1: Set a Goal & Track it
As the self-appointed Mayor of Bookopolis, I’m often asked – how can I get my kid to read more?
One big tip that seems kind of obvious but you might not be doing it is…set a daily reading goal and then track your daily progress. The daily goal could be time or pages. You can experiment to see which one works for you. I like time because you can set an alarm and literally time bound it, but for others pages works. James Clear the author of the bestselling book Atomic Habits has shared that he reads 20 pages every morning and this has helped him be on track to read 36 books a year. But, the real key is that you set the intention (or goal) and then set aside some time in your family routine to have your kids read. Traditionally this can be right before bedtime, but experiment. Maybe waking up 20 minutes earlier and reading in the morning is better. Or, right when the kids come home from school as a way to transition into afterschool activities. Or, try that time right before dinner when you need 20 minutes without interruption. Give everyone a book and let them be in the kitchen reading. I know our kids are busy. But, we make time for what matters.
Part two of this tip is to TRACK IT. Bookopolis.com, the online community I created to support and motivate young readers, has a digital reading log feature where you can track minutes or pages read. You can do this on the website or the app super quickly by putting a book on your “reading it now” shelf in Bookopolis. Then you can see a running total of how many minutes or pages you’ve read over the week or month or whatever time period.
I’ll be posting more tips that have worked for my kids and many, many others. Let me know what your daily reading goals end up being. And, share where you’re getting stuck and I’ll help you brainstorm how to get unstuck.
Off to read…
Love,
Kari (aka Mayor of Bookopolis)
