This post was sponsored by Amazon as part of an Ambassador Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.
While it's important to encourage reading all year round, the month of March has been set aside as National Reading Month. We use our Fire HD 8 Kids Edition tablet to keep us reading, whether we are at home, or on the go. Paired with Amazon FreeTime Unlimited we have lots of exciting ways to foster a love for reading.
What is National Reading Month?
The purpose of National Reading Month is to help children get into the habit of reading for at least 15 minutes a day. You will find that some kids will easily read for 15 minutes or more. For some kids, they will struggle with reading challenge. Help create a love for reading by celebrating National Reading Month.
Here are a few ways you can do that.
Read aloud for at least 15 minutes a day
15 minutes is the “magic number” at which kids start seeing substantial gains in their personal reading achievements. If they read for 30 minutes, the gain is even larger. I know life gets busy, but those 15 minutes are so important.
By encouraging kids to read on a Fire Kids Edition, the Parent Dashboard can be used to monitor a child’s activity, including how much time their kids have spent reading each day, as well as which books they are reading/listening to. It's a great way to make sure they are meeting their goals, especially during National Reading Month.
Ten reading challenge ideas
A great way to motivate and get kids excited to read is to give them a reading challenge. Obviously reading challenges will vary on the age of a child, find the ones that are best for your child.
1. Read a book with a title that’s a question.
2. Read aloud to your sibling, a pet or favorite stuffed animal.
3. Read a book with words and illustrations by the same person.
4. Ask your favorite librarian to recommend a Newbery Medal- or Newbery Honor-winning book.
5. Ask your favorite librarian to recommend a Caldecott Medal- or Caldecott Honor-winning book.
6. Ask your parents or grandparents what their favorite books were as a child and read that!
7. Start a "family book club."
8. Read a book with the main character being a girl.
9. Read a book with the main character being a boy.
10. Read a book about a nonfiction topic you are interested in.
Give incentives for reading.
Kids love prizes. For many kids, nothing is more fun then have an incentive chart they can load up with stickers! Whether they get a sticker for every 15 minutes they've read or a sticker for each book, or challenge they've completed. You might even reward them with additional screen time on the Fire Kids Edition to play an app the love.
At the end of National Reading Month, celebrate by having a pizza party, awarding a small monetary prize per book read, or give your child a new book to encourage them to continue to read.
Read aloud to a child in the morning
Break the habit of only reading to your child at bedtime. It's a wonderful thing to read a bedtime story, but sometimes, everyone is too tired to really enjoy the story.
To mix things up, how about reading in bed together, but in the morning? Obviously this is easier on the weekends. No time to snuggle in bed in the mornings? Maybe listen to an audiobook on weekdays while eating breakfast before school, even if it's just for ten minutes.
Let your child see you reading.
We all read less than we would like. We are too focused on the everyday – work, chores, family drama. Make sure you lead by example. Don’t read books only when your child is asleep or not around. Try to read during a day so they can see you.. Show your kid books are important to you and they will learn to love them too..
Consider giving your child a device to read ebooks.
When it comes to children’s literature, nothing beats print editions. On the other hand, ebooks offer flexibility, accessibility, and portability. Your child's FreeTime Unlimited that comes with their Fire Kids Edition has a great selection of both ebooks and Audible books.
Enjoy an audio book together.
Your child may love audiobooks! Not sure? The easiest way to find out is to browse Audible books together. Listening to audiobooks is a great way to keep children interested in books when they have no chance or are not in the mood to read. There are lots of fun audiobooks on FreeTime Unlimited!
Start a family book club!
When you view the books your child is reading in the Parent Dashboard, be sure to check out the Discussion Cards. Discussion Cards offer parents a “family book club” approach. Books, videos, Audible books, educational apps and websites that are viewed within Amazon FreeTime Unlimited will have summaries and sample questions based on them, perfect for opening up dialogs with your child.
Set up Learn First settings in the Parent Dashboard
If you're worried about your child playing and not reading on their Fire Kids Edition, it's easy to set up Learn First settings in the Parent Dashboard. You can access the Parent Dashboard either on the Fire Kids Edition or by downloading the FreeTime Unlimited app, available on iOS and Android. I love that not only can I set screentime limits, but I also have the option for my kids to read first and then play apps or watch videos as a reward! It's a way to use screentime in a positiver way.
The flexibility of Freetime Unlimited
Once you've activated your Amazon FreeTime Unlimited it can be used on any compatible device including Fire tablets, Fire Kids Edition tablets, compatible Android and iOS phones and tablets, and compatible Echo devices, including Echo Dot for Kids. Keep in mind that your experience will vary based on device.
Amazon Fire Kids Edition Sweepstakes
Join National Reading Month by completing a social activation in the form below. Those who pledge their participation will be entered in to win one (1) of 10 Fire HD 8 Kids Edition tablets!
I-C will randomly select winners from all program entries and Amazon will facilitate fulfillment of the winning prizes of 10 Winners.
Giveaway open: March 13 – April 3, 2019.
*Void where prohibited*
Amazon Fire Kids Edition Sweepstakes
Other posts you might enjoy about our Fire Kids Edition Experience
Create Holiday Memories with the Fire HD Kids Edition Tablet
Getting Kids to Read with a Fire Kids Edition
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