Making Summer Reading Fun with Zenni Optical

I loved reading as a child (and still do, when I can find 5 minutes...), so it makes me really happy that Millie, as a blossoming young reader, seems to enjoy it as much as I do. Her reading comprehension came a long way this past year, and I'm excited to see those skills continue to develop as she begins 2nd grade. How do I have a 2nd grader, anyway?! Agh. But I digress... 

With just a month left of summer vacation, and many busy days behind and ahead of us, I do realize it can sometimes be a challenge to squeeze in time for reading. The key? Finding ways to make it fun, engaging and "thematic." Zenni Optical, which provides on-trend eyewear for the whole family (their kids' styles are really cute!) sponsored this post, and they wholeheartedly agree and support our earliest readers for a lifetime of reading.

Here are a few of the things we love to read and have done to help make the process "come alive," while still enjoying that important time of reading to our children, too (Vivi at 4 will be our next reader!) --

Step outside the box and check out what children's magazines are available and appropriate for your child. I recently discovered Kazoo Magazine (specifically for girls ages 5-10), and Millie has not been able to put it down. We love that the magazine celebrates how awesome girls are, and features, amongst other cool topics, stories about remarkable women in history. Plus, it's just fun to have something arrive in the mail with your name on it, right?

While the girls have specific series that they like (I'll get to that in a minute), I also think it's good to keep themed books around according to the season, upcoming holidays, etc. For example, here are a few of our favorite summer/beach reads over the years:

Harry by the Sea (by Gene Zion)
Time of Wonder (by Robert McCloskey)
The Summer Visitors (by Karel Hayes)
The Berenstain Bears and the Week at Grandma's (by Stan Berenstain)

As with many little girls, I have two major Fancy Nancy fans in my home. Ooh la la! We're visiting my parents right now, and one of the first things we did when we arrived was visit their local library. And right on top of the pile of books we brought home was, of course, Fancy Nancy: Fancy Day in Room 1-A.

The girls decided to play dress up like the characters in the book, which turned out to be a lot of fun when you're staying at Grandma's house. What a fun way to bring the story alive, and I highly recommend it!

I hope some of these tips and photos will serve as inspiration to make summer reading an engaging experience and not something your child dreads. Fostering a love of reading early on will only serve to enhance your child's life as they grow. In the meantime, I can't wait to introduce Millie to some of my childhood favorites, like Anne of Green Gables and Little House on the Prairie.

Until then, readers!



Disclosure: This post was sponsored on behalf of Zenni Optical via One2One Network. All opinions stated are my own.