5 Ways to Inspire Boys to Read

It is so important for children to read. (Actually, it’s important for adults to read too!) Those who read have a significant advantage in life, business, and opportunities. There is a crisis of children being very uninterested in reading. Statistically, boys are much harder to inspire to read. With four boys in our family, I am on a mission to find ways to inspire a love of learning and reading at a young age. I want them to get lost in books, to find adventure in stories, and find inspiration in the characters they read about. 

My oldest is in 2nd grade. He is seven years old. He is so busy. And ALWAYS bored! He craves stimulation and interaction. Reading has been a struggle for him. But this year I have worked at finding ways to inspire Jayden to read and he is really starting to get into it! That is HUGE!

It’s like things just clicked for him. And now, while he is not a crazy book worm or anything, he is willingly sitting down with a book and enjoying the stories. 

These are the ways I am working on inspiring my boys to read:

Teamwork Inspiration 

My sons definitely will not be taking my word when I tell them that reading is fun. They want to hear it from everyone! We were so blessed that Jayden was placed in a class with an amazing 2nd grade teacher who loves reading. She is always talking to them about some fairytale, legend, or wives tale. She gives away little secrets about her love of reading…like hiding under the covers with a flashlight and book. She has been a huge part of inspiring my son to read.

I have asked other family and friends to talk about books and reading with my boys. I want them to hear about the adventures they went on in books when they were kids. My son’s eyes just light up when he is listening to his role models talk about reading adventures. 

 

Early morning reader. #catinthehat #drseuss #readingisfun #goodteacher #myboys

A photo posted by keikilanij (@keikilanij) on Feb 22, 2016 at 4:24am PST

A Reading Challenge

Jayden’s Auntie is a book LOVER! When I tell you a book lover I mean…she is absolutely obsessed with books! So of course, I asked her to talk about books with Jayden and give him a reading challenge. She immediately said yes. And they struct up a challenge to read. If Jayden finishes a chapter book she will take him to see a movie or out for ice cream. Pretty sweet bargain! He loves to win. And he often talks about how he will be beating his aunt and she will have to take him to the movies. 

Realistic Goals

If I asked my son to sit down and read a whole chapter book we both will end up frustrated in 10 minutes flat! When Jayden looks at a chapter book he sees it as a never ending, boring chore that he doesn’t want to do. I let him know he needs to have a daily realistic goal. We have a goal of either a chapter a day or 20 minutes of reading a day. Because he knows this is a daily requirement and it won’t take that long if he just sits down and does it, we don’t have a lot of drama anymore over daily reading. 

I have found that the last few days he has actually read two chapters and for 30-40 minutes! As the story of the book begins to get deeper and more action is taking place, he forgets that he wanted to be doing something else and is getting lost in the story.

Strategically bought adventure books

We had quite the collection of baby and preschool books, but no really good, challenging options for a second grader. I asked around and gathered a list of popular books for 7-9 year olds. I then sent the list two a couple of family members and asked them to keep an eye out for these books at thrift stores, garage sales, and even on their own bookshelves. 

• Horrible Harry
• Henry Huggins
• Judy Blume
• 13 Story Treehouse
• Star Wars – Padawan series
• A-Z Mysteries
• Magic Treehouse
• Hank the Cowdog
• Fablehaven
• The Lucky Series – Dean Hughes
• The World According to Humphrey
• Captain Underpants
• Timewarp Trip
• Geronimo Stilton
• The Great Brain
• Warriors Series
• Bobbsey Twins
• Roald Dahl (author)
• Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot
• My Weird School
• Sideways Stories – Wayside School
• Half-Magic
• Nancy Drew
• How to Train Your Dragon
• My Father’s Dragon

My sister found 6 books for a $1.00! You can’t beat that! I don’t mind used books at all. Realistically, I would prefer them. My boys are still boys and I know that they try, but they are just naturally rough on everything they touch. I don’t shed a tear over a ten cent book getting accidentally dropped in the toilet. (Don’t ask me how a book got in the bathroom. It was brought in there by a child that couldn’t even read… HAHAHA!)

Secret Reading Places

Make a special reading place for your son to read. A quite place where he doesn’t feel as if he is left out of some fun activity going on around him. We let Jayden read on our bed (a place NO KID is usually allowed) or in his room under a blanket with a flashlight, or a pile of pillows and blankets in a corner. There are so many cool ideas on Pinterest for reading nooks. I am planning on making one this summer for even more reading inspiration!

Let’s not loose this precious art of reading with this generation we are raising. They have so much energy and ingenuity. I can’t wait to see what cool ideas, innovations, and inventions come out of their amazing little minds! I plan on doing everything I can to keep them reading, and learning, and asking questions about the world they live in.

Happy Inspiration,
Keikilani

What was your favorite book when you were in elementary?