A new year is here at last, and with it, the drive to better ourselves. Maybe we want to eat healthier, go green, cut down on social media, or tidy up our homes. But while you’re making plans to improve your lives in the new year, why not try a fun resolution for the whole family to share: reading more! Here are a few suggestions for reading resolutions to try out this year!
Talk about it!
Set aside some time every day to talk about what you’re reading or want to read with the rest of the family– maybe at the dinner table or before bed.
Try something new!
Resolve to experiment with different types of reading material over the year! Here are a few ideas of different mediums and genres to try out:
- Ebook
- Magazine
- Graphic novel
- Audiobook
- Book of poetry
- Play/screenplay
- Anthology of short stories
- Science fiction or fantasy book
- Cookbook
- Mystery novel
- How-to book
- Biography, autobiography, or memoir
A little bit every day
Make a resolution to set aside some time– maybe 30 minutes– for quiet reading time every day. You might find yourselves extending that reading time to an hour or two when you find a book that you just can’t bear to put down!
From A-Z
Here’s an unusual challenge to try with the family: try to read your way through the alphabet! Check off a book with a title or author that starts with every letter of the alphabet. (You might be able to get away with making ‘X’ a freebie space, though.) See which member of the family can finish their list first!
Read aloud together
Reading together is a terrific way to bond as a family. Even older kids who can read independently may secretly (or not-so-secretly) enjoy being read to again. Some good suggestions for books that are popular with many different ages: Roald Dahl books like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or Matilda, a series like Harry Potter or the Chronicles of Narnia, classic children’s stories like The Secret Garden and A Little Princess, or newer classics like Holes and Peter and the Starcatchers. Another option? Playing audiobooks during family car trips, long and short. You’ll read your way through plenty of books together! Older children may even enjoy taking turns being the narrator now and then.
Look at your own bookshelf
Chances are, everyone in your family has either bought a book or received one as a gift without ever reading it. Make 2020 the year that you conquer those unread books! You may unexpectedly discover a new favorite!
Step into someone else’s shoes
It’s easy to get stuck in a bubble and read books about people who are like us. Why not look for books or stories with main characters who are different from you? Try reading about someone who…
- Is a different gender
- Lives in a different country
- Has a disability or medical condition that you don’t
- Lives in a different time period
- Has a family that’s different from yours
- Has a different racial or ethnic identity
- Is much older or younger
You may even find that you have a surprising amount in common with these characters!
Form a book club
Get together with a group of friends and form a book club! It might be fun to host a kids’ book club and a grown-up book club meeting at the same time. That way, both kids and parents get to talk about what they’re reading– and kids have something to occupy them while their parents meet up! Serve themed snacks for extra fun.
What’s your reading resolution this year?
