This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Half Price Books. The opinions and text are all mine.

Five Tried and True Tips to Get Your Kids to Read More this Summer

With Memorial Day behind us, I think it’s safe to say we can start celebrating Summer! Temps are soaring well into the 90’s here in Atlanta, so it certainly already feels like Summer. When the weather is hot, my family doesn’t plan a lot of outdoor activity in the afternoons, but we spend more time inside where it’s cool, doing the things we love……like reading books! Most of you already know that because my family doesn’t own a TV (we haven’t in over a decade) and since we are unschoolers, my children spend more time reading. It’s been shown that kids lose about 1.5 months of what they learned over the Summer break, so reading often is definitely a way to keep up and be prepared when the next school year starts in the Fall. I have books in every room in my house, on shelves and in baskets. We take a lot of trips to the bookstore and library often and I’m always asked to share tips on how I get my children to read.

Since it’s Summer, and I know you don’t want your children to play video games all day, I have a few tips for you!

Five Tips to Get Your Kids to Read More this Summer

Half Price Books Feed Your Brain Summer Reading Program – I love a good Summer Reading Program! From June 1st to July 31st ​Half Price Books bookstore is rewarding kids & teenagers (ages 14 and under) for reading just 15 minutes a day with the Feed Your Brain Summer Reading Program. All you have to do is print a reading log online or visit your local Half Price Books to pick one up. Once your children have read 300 minutes, they can turn in their completed reading log to earn a $5 Bookworm Buck to redeem for books! Be sure to redeem your HPB Bookworm Bucks before August 29th! I love Half Price Books because they have all of the titles my children love for a fraction of the regular price. That makes it easy for us to add to our book collection and home library on a regular basis.

Have Your Children Choose What They Want To Read – One of the major ways I get my kids to read more is by letting them choose what they want to read. I ask them what they are interested in, and then let them pick titles surrounding those interests. What are your children excited about? If it’s race cars, look up books about cars! Electricity, engineering, insects, crafting, it could be any topic! Look at what your children are most interested in, and then go from there. I find that when learning isn’t forced, it’s so much easier. When children are able to explore their natural interests, they can be more excited about learning and reading.

Create a Daily Screen Free Time – Make a daily routine of having a screen free time. During this time it’s no movies, television, video games, computers, or cellphones. Everyone has to grab a book and they can only read during that time. This will quickly become a daily habit, but you have to stick to it! Even as a parent you should join in. Remember – we have to be the best and first example for our children. They will follow our lead!

Use Reading to Gain Access to Electronics – If you schedule your daily reading time for every morning after breakfast, then let your children know that reading has to be done before they can utilize their electronics. No video games until the daily reading has been done! If they want to be able to play games or watch television, reading comes first.

Buy Books – I get sad when I find out that people actually have homes without many books in them. If we want our children to read more, we actually have to make a habit of buying books. There is no way that electronics can replace a good hardcover book that will last for ages. I still have books I read when I was a child that I’ve passed on to my children! My kids and I plan trips to Half Price Books often and there are books on every subject in different genres, fiction and non-fiction. Some of my fondest memories of my childhood are reading a good book and finishing it in a day.

If you’re ready to jump start Summer Reading for your family, head to your local Half Price Books on Sunday June 2nd at 2p.m. local time for the The Biggest Storytime of the Summer! This special event will kick off the Feed Your Brain Summer Reading Program. You can grab reading logs while you’re there and some new titles for your home library.

My kids will be reading all Summer so they won’t lose what they learned during the school year! You can even stock up at your nearest Half Price Books location before your Summer road trips or travel!

Be sure to visit HERE for reading program information or visit a Half Price Books near you!