How do you get your kids to embrace summer reading?

When I originally thought about how I get Savvy to embrace summer reading it didn't make any sense to me.  First she starts Pre-K in the fall so {technically} I guess you can say that she does not have a summer vacation but then I re-read the question and realized the question had nothing to do with vacation....thing is Savvy is 3 years old and loves to "read".  Her Abuela (Grandmother) came today with a bag of books to drop off for her and a cute little skirt.  Savannah ignored the skirt and grabbed her "new" books and sat on the carpet.  She spent the next 30 minutes "reading" her books...she "reads" out loud and loves to share the story with you.

Since Savannah was just a few months old she had a book in her crib.  If she has trouble falling asleep she will ask for her doll and a book....most of the time I find her fast asleep simply hugging her book.  So, how do I get my child to embrace summer reading?  I think I will be able to answer this question in a few years by simply explaining that reading has always been an important part of Savannah's life.  I have always encouraged it.  I know that she may have many days that she does not feel well and will not be able to go out and play with her friends as she gets older but I also know that on those days she will be able to grab a book and escape to her imagination and play, dance, and laugh as much as she wants.

I truly hope that reading books continues to be as important to her in the future as it is to her today.  I was never encouraged to read when I was young.  I think that this is why I struggle so much when sitting down to read a book.  Once I pick up a book and start to read it I tend to get lost in it and I truly enjoy it but I can tell you that I don't normally seek out a book to read to pass my time with...this is something that I wish I was encouraged to do as a child.  The love of books is something that my husband has and one that I think is priceless.

From a {Frugalista's} perspective encouraging your child to read is so inexpensive and yet it gives you so much more back.  Books are free at your local library (what a treasure to have local libraries near you).  The major bookstores have an hour a week where children have a story hour...how fun for the kids while teaching them the love of books.

If you want to read about how others encourage their children to read then you can go HERE to Twittermoms and link up with mom bloggers that are writing about this subject on their blogs.

I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms blogging program to be eligible to get an "I Can Read!" book. For more information on how you can participate, click here.