If you neglect to cultivate a love for reading on "regular" days, there's no way a kid will magically gravitate toward it during the summer! Reading ought to be a natural part of life, something kids are encouraged to do willingly and rewarded for often. If you set it up as a regular, daily occurrence, summer-time reading will come with ease.

One of my tricks for doing this is to simply make books available. I know that sounds a bit too basic and uncomplicated, but it is so very true. I often joke with my friends that my kids have more books than toys. This is not to say that they're deprived of fun, just to show how committed we've been to turning them into readers.

Yep, I'm one of those wacky parents who read to her kids while they were in the womb. We read to them every night, and make them read everyday. Maybe instead of using the phrase "make them read," I should say we "let them read." They really have grown to enjoy it because we model it, and again, give them access to great books.

If you have a struggling reader, a child who thinks reading is boring, or a child who just won't read, I recommend that you get him or her some more books. Vary the reading levels, the subject matter and the lengths, but make sure you find books your child will find interesting. Spend some time in the bookstore or the library letting your child go through the books, explore and just hang out! You might find yourself with a voracious reader on your hand, as a result. Don’t stress yourself out about it, and by all means, don’t stress your kids either! Expose them to books, make it a daily expectation, lead by example, and make it fun!

Check out my little readers in the picture above. This was our weekly trip to the library last week. Here’s my 5 year old with his first library card. He feels like such a big boy! I just hope his enthusiasm about that card lasts through the teenage years!