10 Fun Reading Activities for Kids

Reading is one of the most productive and worthwhile activities, that is equally beneficial for kids and adults; in fact, it is more fruitful for kids than for adults because a consistent reading habit greatly helps in developing a kid’s analytical skills and critical thinking. It opens up the kid’s imagination to an endless world of possibilities; and also aids the kid in improving his language skills, especially vocabulary.

As beneficial as reading is, it is not always easy to develop a kid’s interest for habitual reading. Gary Cooper, a professional writer at BestEssays, shared his experience with us, “being aware of the multiple benefits of reading, I often tried engaging my 6 year old son in reading activities, but it didn’t work well. Things changed dramatically; however, after I started focusing on making reading a fun and exciting activity for him. Incorporating a few simple, game-like activities into reading for him proved to be much more effective than I had thought. He regularly reads stories and children’s magazines now, and I have observed a great improvement in his creativity.”

Children usually perceive reading to be a boring and dull activity but as Gary shared his experience, incorporating a few simple and fun activities can be very effective for developing a kid’s interest in reading. We’ve compiled a list for you of the 10 most fun and engaging reading activities that are very likely to entice your kids into reading.

1. Create a Reading Space

This is a simple and easy, yet highly effective strategy for luring your little ones into grabbing some books for good. All you have to do is create a small reading space for them anywhere in the house. Place a small bookshelf with their favorite story books (or books they might find interesting), and place some pillows and bean bag in the area. This area serves as the kids’ own little library. It is one of the most effective and proven strategies for getting your kids to read.

1. Subscribe to Kid’s Magazines

There are plenty of kid’s magazines available that feature a colorful appearance and are full of stories, activities, and fun games for children. It is best to subscribe to one of these magazines for your kid as it can prove to be instrumental in developing your kid’s interest in reading.

1. Acquaint Your Kids with eBooks

It has been observed that children are very fond of electronic gadgets. Getting your child acquainted with eBooks through a tablet or laptop can also enhance the prospects of your kid to become a consistent reader.

1. Read Together

As stated earlier, children usually consider reading to be a boring activity. Getting them used to reading will take time and efforts on your part, especially in the beginning. Try spending time with them and read the stories to them in an intriguing way. Your goal would be to try making the kid believe that reading is a lot of fun.

1. Enact Characters from the Stories

Connecting to the previous point, it would be an exciting experience for your kids if you enact different characters from the stories that you read to them, such as a pirate or a genie etc. Kids simply want to have fun and if you can demonstrate the fun part of reading to them, it is very likely that they are going to make reading a permanent habit.

1. Create a Family Book Tree

This is a highly effective and proven strategy that can develop an interest for reading in your kids. All you have to do is cut out a tree shape from a large sheet of paper and decorate it with different colors and shapes. Label it with the words “Our Family Book Tree”. Every time one of the kids in the family reads a book, they can write the name of the book along with their name on a piece of paper and paste it onto the tree. It will promote a sense of competition among the kids as each kid will want to be the one with the most readings.

1. Play Literacy Games

In order to enable the kids to make the most out of their readings, it is a good idea to often engage them in literacy games, especially word and spelling games. It will solidify their language skills and will also make reading a lot easier for them.

1. Gift Your Kids Different Books

Make sure that your kids don’t stick to a single genre of books. Reading stories is good but it’s certainly not good if they read stories alone all the time. Try giving them a taste of different genres by gifting them different types of books such as comics, jokes, and children’s general knowledge books.

1. Play Pre-Reading Games

In order to make reading an enticing activity for your children, play pre-reading games with your children. It can be a literacy game or any of the child’s favorite game. The idea is to associate the pre-game with reading so that the child unconsciously develops a habit of reading.

1. Throw Kids’ Parties Occasionally

This strategy for developing the kid’s interest in reading is by far one of the most effective strategies with proven results. You simply have to arrange a party for kids with special arrangements for them such as kids’ favorite delicacies, dresses, storybooks, and small gifts for children. Announce a story reading competition among the kids with special gifts for the winners. Just like the family book tree, the party also incorporates a sense of competition, and also lets the kids show off their reading skills. It acts as a stimulus for the kids and drives their personal interest in improving their reading skills.

These are some of the most famous, fun reading activities for kids and most of them are developed by experts in child psychology and educators. These activities will entice your kids into reading and will enable them to see reading as much more than just a bunch of words on a page.