How to Get 2Nd Grader to Enjoy Reading?

My son's school had 20 mins of reading a night as part of their homework. We had to initial something.

My son didn't like reading until 3rd grade when he found the Captain Underpants Series. Then it was Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Hardy Boys.

Have you tried taking them to the library to sit and read there? That way, they can scan hundreds of books to find one they like.

Do they like to read before bed? My boys (4 & 7) have zero interest in books ... until I say it's time for bed :-) For awhile I tried to read to them after lunch or when they seemed a little tired. They are just go, go, go all day long. But they do really enjoy reading before bed. I realize a small part of it is not wanting to go to bed, but they really do enjoy it.

Tie a reward into reading. My grandchildren go to bed at a certain time however if they read they are allowed to stay up a little longer. If you limit the amount of time the kids have for computer or tv you can use reading as a way of earning more screen time.

I always read to my kids (5 and 2) at bedtime. Every night. I always make reading fun by really getting into the book while I read it. When we are at the library and I am doing the voices and 'acting out' the book, I notice other children tend to come over and show interest in what I am doing. Sometimes I need to scan over the book to get an idea of how I am going go about reading it aloud to be fun. Even if they are old enough to read by themselves, there is nothing wrong with reading book chapters aloud at bedtime and stopping at 'cliff hangers' to be continued the next day. Maybe... they could even read plays and everyone can act it out and have fun. I am sure there are plenty of books like that at the library.

My 8 y.o. son is a skilled but reluctant reader. The two things that have helped are books on CD and graphic novels. Often after listening to a book in a series he will go on to read more of the series. The same child who never wants to sit with a book burned through all of the Percy Jackson books and the Heroes of Olympus after listening to the first one. Then he took on D'Aulaire's mythology.

Graphic novels are also a great way to encourage reading if chosen well. Choose books that have lots of dialogue and are well-written instead of being mostly pictures, and have engaging, age-appropriate stories. A comics shop can actually be a great source of engaging reading material for the reluctant reader, and usually the staff can point you in the right direction. I'd recommend the Mouse Guard series and the Amulet series, but you'll want to check these out for yourself. I do allow some comic book violence as long as it's not graphic - on about the level of the Star Wars movies or the Clone Wars. (And there are some well-done Star Wars comics out there, too, but be careful - not all of them are all-ages comics. The Clone Wars ones that are based on the cartoon network series are age appropriate.) Check at your library, too - ours is loaded with age appropriate quality graphic novels. Ones to avoid buying, in my opinion - the Pokemon books. I do allow my kids to check them out from the library once in awhile, but there's very little intelligent writing in them, and the stories, repeated back to you with sound effects ad nauseum, have the potential to send the adults in the house over the edge. (Unless you were a fan in your youth - then they might make you feel nostalgic.)

There are also some good adaptations of classics in graphic novel form. Some would be great for your 8 y.o. girls, such as Around the World in Eighty Days. Others are better for older kids. I've just put Marvel's adaptation of Emma in my 12 y.o. daughter's hands, and she's begging for more. My plan is to turn her into an Austen fan before she gets to high school and gets brainwashed into believing that literature isn't cool.

I also made the rule that movies are not seen unless the books they are based on have been read. To make this work, you need to commit to extensive read-alouds. We read the Hobbit as a family before going to see the movie. We did the same with the entire Harry Potter series and the Narnia books.

http://www.amightygirl.com/
That's a great resource for books.

I would read aloud to them. You find books that would appeal to them and you read it to them. Eventually they'll read on their own.

My daughter just turned 9 and at the beginning of the year was reading easy books and towards the end of the school year, got into the big chapter books (Percy Jackson). She loves them! I was worried for awhile. But I never stopped taking her to the library and finding books to read aloud. What worked for me was me being the animated reader. My kids loved that.

http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/
Jim Trelease is a big proponent of reading aloud to kids, even older teens.

EDITED TO ADD:
I am not a big reader. I'm very visual. I love pictures. Even as a child, I remember gasping when I saw my first picture book. Kids books have amazing illustrators. Graphic novels can work with some kids. I personally don't like the style of it and neither do my kids, but if it hooks a kid, great!

YOU'RE ON YOUR WAY TEDDY ROOSEVELT by Judith St. George
tells a true history story, gorgeous illustrations by Matt Faulkner (look up other books he worked on)

I ended up looking for my favorite illustrators and hunting down books they wrote.

Cheryl Harness is another author/illustrator who focuses on history for kids.

So that's one benefit one children's book (big hardcover ones) that are past easy Dr. Seuss that tell a real story. Tons of them at the library.

Notice the the types of stories your daughters like. It could be funny. (My daughter went through a stage of loving the BABYMOUSE comic book style books because they were silly and funny.)

Have you seen this meme?
Why can't I skip my 20 minutes of reading tonight?
http://www.usd343.net/vnews/display.v/ART/5060992ac7eb2

if you can't open the link google image and those words.
It counts for words heard as well (audio books). I learned that when I heard Jim Trelease speak in our community.

I have a 7-year-old book worm and here's how I handled reading, which I think helped create the habit.

I always read to her at bed time and opportune moments during day. If a break came up at a random time, we cuddled with a book for a little bit. This morning, when she was sitting and eating her cereal, I went in, sat beside her and read a few pages of a Cleopatra book we're getting through before I need to return it. I don't harp on it or read too long....but I do it. It's never been a discussion or a choice, I just do it. "Hey babe, I have to return this book soon so I'm going to read a few pages". I also ask her to read to me. Sometimes I even whip out a book and discuss little parts of it at the dinner table while we're all stil sitting around-or ask her to read something to me there. I also read to myself a lot. They've seen me read in bed since they were born, or sit in a chair and read if I have some rare spare moments, or bring books with me to waiting rooms etc-so she's always looked forward to reading.

She now reads in bed and I have to go in and force her to turn off the light. She's got stacks of books by her bed-some fun-some educational. She also has no other options in there..she can stay up "late" if she reads, but no playing, and there's no TV or anything in there. I taught her to read with a chalkboard at a younger age, so reading has always been something nice we do together, she knows I'm proud of it, and she likes to show me what she can read.

I never stop her from playing instead, because playing is learning and necessary release, but I do not allow TV for much of the day. The kids watch it while I make dinner. Other than that, their options are playing or looking at books (younger two can't read yet). Since there is always a batch of good new library books in reach-they "read" them-especially if their other option is cleaning their room :)

Don't force it to the point that they hate it-but definitely do nurture a "culture of reading" more in your house. And requesting a little per day along with other obligations is a good idea imo. The longer they go without doing it the less interested they may become. My daughter also plays violin and piano, and she wouldn't practice those if I didn't make her. It hasn't killed the love of playing at all to "make" her practice. It has enabled her to get better at it and to be self-guided.

You could do some sort of family book club where they have to complete a book each week before they do ___fun thing and discuss the book with you. It can be very fun and then you'll have a reasons to "force it" for a few minutes each day if they're going to finish the book on time. My daughter is reading the Hunchback of Notre Dame right now and when she's done we get to have movie night and watch the movie after we discuss it. Books before movies! Always.

There were a bunch of similar questions a few weeks ago. One of my favorite pieces of advice was to expand your view of what reading entails. If your kids like to play house, maybe have them follow a recipe in the cookbook or a sewing pattern. If you have them read the Little House books, I do believe there is a companion cookbook that you can get.

For me, I tell my son that he can't play his video game until he reads for 20 minutes and then he gets to play one minute for every minute he has read. It's been a huge motivator. I don't love that I have to bribe him to get him to read, but you do what you gotta do. :)

It is important that they read on a regular basis. Is it possible they are struggling with reading, so it isn't fun? If that is the case, then get some extra help. Put them in a reading program.

Have you checked your library. Do they have a summer reading program? Our library has a reading contest and every 5 books my daughter can pick a prize.

I hate to tell you to force them, but you do have to keep them reading or they will struggle next year.

Have you tried taking turns reading aloud? If you all sit together and each read a chapter to one another, they might like it. Bonding time with each other and mom, they don't have to do all the reading themselves, but they are still getting some reading.

Have a set time for reading every day and give them incentives for reading. If you google "printable reading incentive charts" you will find lots of them. Give them a sticker for every book they read (or for every 20 mins they read) and they earn a reward of some kind when they have a certain # of stickers. Another thing to try is to read with them and pass the book. Each person reads a page (or a paragraph) and then passes the book.

Here is a list of possibilities for them.
http://www.greatschools.org/cgi-bin/showarticle/625

Good read alouds:
Number the Stars
The Tale of Despereaux
Frindle
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Because of Winn Dixie
Stone Fox
The BFG
Wayside Stories
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Don't give up! :)

Our library runs a mentor program. My kids can go in once a week and read with a teen for an hour. Kids love to do stuff with teens.

If they don't like to read, I think it is because they haven't found any books that really interest them yet. Keep trying😀.

Also could you give them the choice at night to either turn off their light and go to sleep or read for an hour or so. That might motivate them.

My daughter loved The Cupcake Diaries at that age. She also love the American Girl historical fiction books (not the mysteries)... and Judy Moody series.

What do they like? What are they interested in? Take them to a small library everyday and tell them to find something they enjoy. And then let them read it, even if it's silly magazines or comic books. That way they buy into reading instead of you selling it to them.

If you make library time an every day thing, there is nothing else for them to do in the library BUT read.

Sometimes libraries have reading contests. My kids got a big charge out of that. They picked out stacks of books to read and we wrote down all the names of the books. I made it a priority to work on those lists with my kids.

That might not work with your kids, but spend an hour in the library and that will help. I would ALWAYS read at bedtime though, without fail. That should be part of your bedtime ritual. They might be a lot more willing to relax with a story at night time in your home.

Good luck!

Have a set time for reading each day, from ___ to ___. They can read a book, magazine or comic book, there has to be words, not just pictures, while you read something, too. Have a craft time and make some cute bookmarks with them.

Have them decorate a tote to use as a book bag. Take them to the library, most have summer reading programs with incentives that encourage reading. Have them each check out some books and magazines while they're there. The key is to let THEM pick out books they like, and remember, even though they're twins they may want to read different books. Find out what interests they have and have them ask the children's librarian for titles on those subjects. Show them how to use the library.

Are there any movies they like that you can get the books to? My nephew has been reading voraciously since he was in kindergarten, he read the entire Harry Potter series starting when he was 7, finished at 9. He loves books because they're more detailed, and loves to point out the differences in the movies.

You can't ever make them enjoy reading, they may or may never not, but pretty soon in school the book reports will get more involved and their teachers will require reading, whether they like it or not.

What are their personalities like? The books you are reading are not the books our daughter liked. She just did not care for that genre..

Our daughter enjoyed fantasy. Humor..

Sometimes books about slightly odd kids overcoming something or being a strong character. Like Author: Roald Dahl Books.

Author: Lynne Reid Banks, Indian in the cupboard.

Loved Harry Potter.

She really loved humorous books.

The Wayside stories
Hank the Cowdog stories

Ramona and Beezus
Frindle

Holes by Author: Louis Sachar - He writes great books for kids

Get them some joke books, Riddles..
Get some 10 minute mystery books.. Have them read them out loud and you all get to solve the mysteries.

Get some audio books and listen to them in the car as a family..

Some kids are just really active. Books only catch their attention if they are really enjoying the content.

Make sure you and dad read.. We were always reading books, magazines and newspapers. They were all over the house.

We read them to each other too..

Maybe get relatives to write them some letters.. Or emails. Let the girls read them..

If they really aren't interested in taking a bath, do you let them skip it? Maybe once in a while but no, reading in today's world is as important as taking a bath. Do it daily and read longer than 10 mins. It takes at least 20 to really get interested in the subject.

Try bigger books. You read at night to them. It's summer. At bedtime you read as long as they want.

Read, The Long Winter by Laura Ingles Wilder. They need exposure to a world bigger than them.

We made 15m of reading mandatory every evening starting in 1st grade...now it is more like 30 minutes for our son (age 9). Yes, I think you should have a reading rule! His teacher said let him read whatever he likes. At first it was really goofy books like Captain Underpants. Then he just loved Diary of a Wimpy Kid and the Big Nate series. These are all kind of like comic books but also with words. To me they seem like junk food reading but the teacher said to encourage ANY reading. So we did. He loved to read them over and over bc they are so funny. He LOVES to get graphic novels (for kids)...basically pure comics. Do you think your daughters would like these? His dad also picks a harder but very interesting book and reads a chapter or two to him before bed. First they did the Harry Potter series and now they are doing Lord of the Rings. Have you tried reading them Harry Potter? Our son was totally fascinated. What about Little House on the Prairie? I hear that is a good series too.

My daughter had to get over the struggle hurdle in order to enjoy reading. Are they reading at grade level or are they below? Their teacher(s) ought to have tested them this year so that you know.

The only way to improve reading is by reading. I say make the rule read 20 minutes per day, though not necessarily in one session. That has been the daily homework for my daughter, and her summer bridge books recommend that , too. (I hope your children's teacher had made 20 minutes of reading a day their homework. If not, yes, make it a house rule).

Playing imaginary games is a perfect post-reading activity. Be sly and set out costumes and toys that can be used as props for play acting scenes from the story you are reading. If the story has characters selling lemonade, have a lemonade stand. Careful what you read to them! If they do not naturally see the connections between play and reading, then organize this type of play yourself to show them how to do that. Make puppets and put on a show of the book. Act out a scene. Make a book about the story, with different scenes on different pages. Doing the story is a great companion to reading the story. This helps them visualize the images. It also helps all types of learners to access reading.

Imaginary play, building things, getting exercise, reading, doing some household tasks can take up the bulk of a day. Limit the electronic device time. Don't let the devices take away from reading time.

Kids do like to be on the go. There's no rule (at home, anyway) that they have to be seated while you read aloud to them. Sometimes my daughter plays or draws simultaneously while I read aloud to her. She is processing what I am reading to her. Understanding what is said is important too, along with decoding the words on the page. Reading aloud also builds up vocabulary, works on reading stamina, and helps kids know what reading should sound like. I've also seen articles about kids sitting on those big yoga or exercise balls while doing seat work. This allows them to move while they read or write or do math.

My DD and I are currently buying the Nancy Drew Notebooks series and reading those. This is not the original, which has teens driving around, but eight-year-old girls solving mysteries kids can relate to. The books also show what active eight-year-olds can do with their time through the stories. The series is not available new at bookstores, so you'll have to go to the library or find used copies online at Amazon or eBay. And a word of caution: Not all the Nancy Drew book series are appropriate for eight-year-olds. Some are updated teens with dating and murders. The Notebooks series is the place to start. But there are a lot of books out there. Keep trying different genres.

I spent six months being anxious whether DD would get over the struggle hurdle, but she did. Best wishes.

My oldest was like that. So hard to please. Keep trying different books. Ivy and Bean series was the first big hit for read alone. And do they read ok or struggle? If its a struggle, there could be something going on with their eyes or a processing disorder though it seems unlikely they'd both have an issue like that. Perhaps they just aren't bored enough to read? Sometimes I think that's the case with my kids. They have each other to play with, lots of kids stopping by etc. if they don't struggle, I'd implement a certain number of minutes they have to read... It'll catch on with time.

Could they be dyslexic? Often when kids resist doing things like reading or math they have a learning disability and feel stupid.
I struggled with the Appleton school district many years ago concerning my daughter. She is dyslexic and the school refused to test her. More recently I had the same struggle with Menasha schools. I knew my son was also dyslexic and even though I regularly told them they refused to test him. Finally in 5th grade he was tested.

There are many forms of dyslexia, getting them tested is a good idea. You may have to go outside the school system to get them tested. Once you have a diagnosis they schools have to put together a program for them.

Hi Kristen.
Mother of twins here also.
Magic tree house is a great series!!
some kids that were more princess liked fancy nancy.
The littles- can't remember the series name??
Diary of a wimpy kid-- not a huge challenge but they read and that's the goal. Big nate is another.

What we did is take them to the library and let them pick their own books.
Or- half priced book store.

And if they didn't want to read with me-- we made a game of it, I read one page they read the next, then they could read with each other.
10-15 is good for that age.

If there is an interactive game online that makes them read, not sure- webkinz had them reading in some areas, then that counts too to keep them from thinking its punishment.

Parenting-- the joys. Stay the course. They will thank you later.

about me: 52 yo with 12 yo fraternal twin girls who are now advanced readers for our perseverance ; ), perfusionist, wellness coach who now has to struggle with 'i want an iphone mom'

B.

I would ask teacher for feedback and let them choose @ bookstore.

Figure out what topics appeal to them. If they’re into the latest Nintendo race car games, suggest car racing books. If Wii Sports is more their speed, look for stories about famous athletes.
Make getting new books an adventure. Go on a special trip to the bookstore or library and let them pick out whatever books they’d like. Buy them refreshments in the bookstore’s café or go out for lunch after a library visit. Read together when you get home.
Develop your own Book Club. Invite siblings, friends and neighbors to join, and ask each child to select a book for the group to read. Have a Book Club party and serve snacks related to the book’s theme- such as a tea party for a Fancy Nancy book or noodles and gummy worms for a book about snakes.
Use the rewards system. For every 10 books that your kids read, allow a half-hour of uninterrupted video game time.
Attend story hours. Many bookstores and libraries hold regular story times, and they’re usually free. Some of these events also include crafts, puppets or snack time.
Set up a regular “reading time.” Some parents enjoy reading books with their children each evening before bed. Others build reading into their morning routines. Be consistent so your children can eagerly anticipate this cozy time with you.
Nannies4hire