The Lazy Genius Podcast - #268 - 10 Summer Reading Ideas for Your Kids

Episode Date: June 27, 2022

Last week, we talked about finding your own summer reading rhythm as a grownup, whether you’re home in the summer or just existing like the rest of the year, and today, I want to talk about some specifics for kids if you have those.   Helpful Companion Links Last week’s episode: Find Your Summer Reading Rhythm Read Aloud Revival’s reluctant reader list Book log coloring page from Everyday Reading Here Wee Read themed book lists Anne Bogel’s Kids’ Reading Journal (out Aug. 2!) Currently Reading podcast Download a transcript of this episode.   This podcast is hosted by Kendra Adachi and executive produced by Kendra Adachi, Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey there, you are listening to the Lazy Genius Podcast. I'm Kendra Adachi, and I'm here to help you be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't. Today is episode 268, 10 summer reading ideas for your kids. Last week, we talked about finding your own summer reading rhythm as a grown-up, whether you're home in the summer or just existing like the rest of the year. And today, I want to talk about some specifics for kids. if you have those. Now, I know that I have a lot of romanticism attached to kids in summer reading

personally. I want them to like lounge for hours, reach for books over their video game controllers and excitedly tell me about all the books they've read that totally were surprising and they were not another graphic novel. Good gracious. But that is just not realistic, like at all. So instead of trying to manufacture this romantic idea, I want to just focus on what matters. And for me, and likely for you, that is, our kids have books and reading as part of their lives. That's it. The regularity, the kinds of books, the routines, the tracking, whether or not there are rewards, all of that is individual. But ultimately, what matters is that our kids have books and reading as natural parts of their lives. So how can we do that? Now at first I was going to share like how to

create a reading routine or rhythm with your kids. But honestly like a lot of kids are less into that, right? They don't have a routine really. Plus summer schedules vary from family to family and kid to kid. So instead of an overall plan, which we do love, which we do love, I want us to just start small with 10 ideas, just 10. You can do one, you can do 10, you can try a couple, and then leave the rest behind, and you might actually already do all of them. And if you do, guess what? That means that books and reading

are part of your kids' lives. And it's beautiful to be happy with that. So let's jump in. Number one, be kind to reluctant readers. My daughter Annie, she just finished kindergarten, and she is learning to read.

Now she says she can't read, but she's learning, right? Now, some of the time she's super into it, but there are many times where she picks up a book, she does not know enough of the sight words, and then get super frustrated and quits. Now, I'm not a reading expert, but I feel like I'm going to say that's okay, right? That's okay for her to quit. I want to be kind to her during those times. Now, sometimes she's more reluctant, and I just don't want to force it.

I want to encourage her in her reading. There's a difference, right? Now the same goes for my soon-to-be seventh grader, Sam. Sam, he really does love to read in his heart, but in his middle school brain right now, he's reluctant to do like kind of anything I encourage him to do. It's just his vibe, like as a 12-year-old boy, to be loosely against anything that I am for. And I want to be kind to him in that, right? It's developmental, like no forcing, just encouraging. Now, we do have reading rules in our house. Mainly everybody just has to read it. every day. But that's kind of it. And the kids already have those rhythms in their days. It's not really

a forced thing. So if you have a reluctant reader, be kind to them. Be kind to them. Also, Sarah McKenzie from Read Aloud Revival has a reluctant reader list. That is so great. And then I follow Ann Bogle's advice to just leave books out. Just leave books out for your kids. kids, have them available. It's okay if your kid goes like literal years before picking up a book that you think they would love, but have them around, just have the books around, especially books that seem more attractive to reluctant readers. Okay, number two, color your books. Now, I shared this on Instagram a couple of weeks ago, but when our family was homesick with a really bad cold, and frankly, we still are. We still are. Can you hear?

in my voice. It has knocked us out so bad. I printed out one of those coloring sheet reading logs where you write each book on its own spine. It was so much fun. And two of my three kids thought it was cool and they brought it up multiple times. They might not want to do it themselves right now, but the stage is set. So again, it's encouraging, not forcing. However, If a coloring sheet reading log, it really sounds like something your kids would be into. Jansen Bradshaw from Everyday Reading has a summer reading log coloring sheet every year. The one this year is summer camp themed and it's seriously, oh, so cute. But that is a great way, a great way to have your kids think about their reading over the entire summer through the lens of an art project.

Number three, have family reading time. We have not done this this particular summer yet, but in the past, we have loved family reading time. Just set a timer and say, okay, everybody grab a book. It's family reading time. We might turn on like some super chill ambient music or just have silence and everybody sits in various chairs in the living room and we all just read. Now we used to do it a lot when Annie was younger and napping. But now that she's older but still learning to read, the silent family. reading time, it just doesn't work as well. So either cause or I will read with her or to her,

which it kind of changes the vibe a little. But that does not mean it's still not valuable. The thing I like about it is that there really aren't rules, right? We're all just reading at the same time. And you could do that too. So have family reading time. Number four, have a book spot. Choose somewhere in your home where all your summer books go. Or maybe each person has their own book spot. But rather than pulling from an entire shelf, have a basket or a box or a stack that is just for summer books. I mentioned this in last week's episode, but it's so helpful because it removes the overwhelm of choice when you're choosing from literally everything, right? Or maybe your book spot is just where your library books go. But regardless, it might help your kids experience books and reading regularly if they have a book spot.

You also could interpret a book spot as a reading spot. It might be a fun thing to, like, create little spots or nooks where your kids can go when it's time to read. Beanbag chairs, twinkle lights, a little lamp, like next to the dog bed so the kid can rub the dog at the same time. So a book spot can mean both, and both would be great. We'll be right back. Jeff versus Taco Truck Salsa, whether it's Verde, Roja, or the orange one. For Jeff, trying any salsa is like playing Russian roulette with a flamethrower. Luckily, Jeff saved with Amazon and stocked up on antacids, ginger tea, and milk.

Habaniero? More like habanier, yes. Save the everyday with Amazon. Aw isn't something we need to travel for. It's something waiting for us in everyday life, whether in a city street or a moment with a work of art. I'm Dr. Keltner, host of the Science of Happiness podcast. Join me for Cities of Aw, a special series on how our public spaces can spark awe, wonder, and enhance the quality of public life. You can find us wherever you listen to your podcasts. Number five. make books part of your weekly rhythm.

That could mean a regular trip to the library or bookstore once a week. Maybe it's refilling your book spot. The key here for me, I think, is weekly. Daily might be asking a lot for some of you, right? For a lot of people in this community, if you say that something is daily and then you miss a day, it requires a lot of emotional effort to not feel bad about it. So like, be kind to yourself, friends.

That's important. And also, maybe look at a weekly book rhythm. Maybe that will help. We are trying to go to the library or use bookstore like once a week in our family right now in the summer. And even if the kids don't read all the books or they're a little whiny about it, books are still part of our lives. And they'll eventually be less resistant to it. I mean, right? Right? Won't they? Yes, they will. Right? Okay. Number six, have a reading dinner. We have these almost every single night. Like truly, our boys, especially, they bring a book to the table every night, every night. Now, we do ask them to close their books for a few minutes so that we can like all talk about our day. But for the most part, they all read at dinner. And I'm great with that. I'm totally great with that. Another way that you can have a reading dinner, whether regularly or just spontaneously,

is to have the dinner conversation be about what everyone has been reading. kind of like a family book club discussion. What did you read today? What's the funniest thing that you've read this week? What book do you wish you could read again? What did you read that you're like, pass? No thank you. Like you can just ask book questions during a meal.

Number seven, listen to an audiobook on your vacation drive. A lot of you already do this, and that's because it's a great idea. Summer is the season for vacations and audiobooks are great in the car. Now, there is definitely the difficulty of finding something that meets the needs of the entire family, depending on ages. But one thing I would like to remind us all of is that no one will be 100% satisfied with anything ever, right? So we can all kind of compromise a little and finding something that mostly works for everyone. Number eight, do theme, reads. Pick a topic and then read books on that topic for a week or two. With tiny kids,

I think this goes over really well because you're getting through books pretty quickly, but it would work with older kids too. Basically, some kind of theme offers like the loosest structure to a reading rhythm. It's a guardrail that keeps you or your kid from choosing from literally every book in the library or the bookstore or even from their own shelf. And instead, they're limiting their choices just a little. Plus, they're learning about something specific for a while. So Charnay, from here we read, has some great book lists that are grouped by theme. And we'll link to that in the show notes along with everything else.

So Charnay has themes around different holidays like Earth Day and Mother's Day and themes around food, hair and skin, anti-racism. Her lists are excellent. They're excellent. And we'll link to those in the show notes. Number nine, encourage a reading journal. This could be just a blank sketchpad where a kid writes whatever they want about the books they read. Or depending on the age of the kid, they could draw a picture to describe a book. You can add the book title and date or something for them and then they can just draw. It could be like a little lined composition notebook where older kids, they write a few sentences about a book they read, or if they don't mind waiting a little while, or you don't either, Anne Bogle, from what should I read next, our beloved Anne, she's releasing

a kids reading journal on August 2nd of this year. I got an early copy, and it is absolutely adorable. It's pretty gender neutral. It's engaging. It has book lists. It's just so great. So pre-order that one if you want like a fun, you know, beginning of school gift for your kid who really loves to read. But ultimately, a kid's reading journal is a great idea for the summer. And finally, number 10, do a buddy read. Read a book alongside one of your kids and then talk about it. I think this is particularly great for an older kid who like kind of wants to do their own thing on their own time, but could still use a little engagement. from the grown-up in their lives. I got the idea after I recently was on an episode of the currently reading podcast and Meredith started sharing about a book called the Kaiju Preservation Society.

As she described it, I thought, oh man, this would be a great book for Sam. Sam is in that strange middle place where he doesn't really want to be challenged, you know, like he still reads Wimpy Kid and stuff, but he's going into seventh grade, and he's in that transitional phase of his reading. So this book, it felt like something he would be into that would satisfy like both sides of that middle school transition. But as Meredith was describing it, I also wanted to read it. I was like, man, that book sounds great. So then I thought we could read it together, which weirdly might make him more likely to read it. Even though he does, you know, resist most things because he is leaning into being a middle schooler, he also really loves his mom and he likes to engage in things

together. So I got two copies of that book and we're going to start reading them next week. But do a buddy read with a kid, even if that's the only book they read all summer. They read a book and they connected with you a little bit in the process. And that's the list. Now, none of these are terribly new or original. They are reminders of simple ways to bring books and reading into your kids' lives. We love our big machines, right? And even though you want to have a summer reading rhythm that is robust and consistent and has your kids like pouring over page after page and forgetting about screen time and food

and arguing with each other, the reality is that some small choices, even ones that you make just one time, they're going to support what matters. about your kids reading this summer, and that is just that they do it sometimes. You can have a more detailed priority if you want, but it's also okay if you don't. Just have reading be part of your family's culture in some way, but don't assume that every other kid in every other family is reading on a hammock or under their covers for multiple hours a day, every day during the summer, or that they're like willingly reading it all. or that they know how to read on the same level as their peers.

There are just so many nuances that go into kids and their reading. So be kind to yourself and to them in that process. And hopefully even one of these ideas gives you some permission as you continue moving through the summer with your kids in their reading. Okay, before we go, let's celebrate the lazy genus of the week. This week it's Jackie Hare who sent me this on Instagram. As soon as I get an invitation in the mail, I put the date in my calendar, and instead of typing out all the details or hanging it on my fridge where it's never handy when I need it, I snap a picture and I add it as an attachment to the event in my calendar. Then all the details are there when I'm shopping for a gift or on my way there, because where is this thing anyway?

Plus then I can throw away the invitation and eliminate that unnecessary clutter. This is an excellent tip, Jackie. I love it so much. And I think that this could be helpful for a lot of people listening. You know, you're eliminating clutter while you're also making that information that you need, where you need at any time because most of us have our phones with us constantly. So this is really, really smart. Thank you for sharing Jackie and for being our lazy genius of the week.

Okay, that's it for today. Thank you so much for listening, everyone. And until next time, be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't. I'm Kendra. I'll see you next week. Have you ever felt like you are living just a B or B plus life? It's so dangerous to live that. More dangerous than a B minus or a C plus life?

Because when you're living a B or B plus life, you don't change it. You think it's good enough. Is it? I'm Susie Welch. I host a podcast called Becoming You. People think, okay, an A plus life is not available to me, but there is a way. We are all in the process of becoming ourselves. Listen to Becoming You wherever you get your podcast.

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