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5 Ways to motivate winter reading

The post-holiday blues. Teachers, parents, and students feel it! The hustle and bustle of the holiday season is over and the homework struggle is real.

How can you motivate your child or students during this season?

Here are 5 ways to motivate reading in those cold winter months!

Create a cozy space

Create a fake fireplace or bonfire. Set up blankets, pillows, or sleeping bags to sit on. After spending some time reading, make some real (at home) or fake (at school) s'mores to celebrate!

Light some candles!

Use battery operated or real candles and dim the lights. Make reading a special time; *it's time to read--let's light the candles!* Your child/student will be excited to mark this special time with doing something out of the ordinary. Create candle bookmarks to use when you're at a stopping point in your stories.

Pretend you're the characters!

Find winter themed stories and then dress up or pretend you are the characters. Does the character wear pajamas? slippers? maybe a head lamp? Retell your portion of the story afterward and continue the fun!

Don't read a book!

Get creative! Have your child read the instructions to a game and then explain it to your family. This still counts as 'reading!' ;)

Use technology

Facetime a friend or family member and have your child read the story. I know that my nieces love to do this with each other and look forward to seeing their cousins!