Regardless of what your school year is going to look like this Fall, the best thing that you can do with your kiddos right now is read! Developing and practicing literacy skills is always important! We have family storytime every night, but now that Goose (5) is reading independently more often, I made her a reading chart to help us be consistent. Visuals are powerful tools for children and this chart has been a great motivation for her to read!

How Does the Chart Work?

In each of the boxes, there’s a number telling my daughter how many books to read by herself. Each day that she completes, she marks with a stamp. For every five stamps she earns, she gets to choose a small treat or reward, like a cookie or temporary tattoo. Once she stamps the entire chart, she gets to have a Yes Day, which basically means that she gets to do whatever she wants, within reason, for 24 hours.

Please notice that this reading chart is not laid out like a calendar. We’ll stamp a box if she finishes her books, but if she wants to take a day off from reading, there isn’t a penalty. Learning to read is a lot of work so I try to make it as enjoyable as possible!

Goose actually completed her first chart already (and had an epic Yes Day) so I made her a new chart that’s slightly more challenging. You can download and print out both of these reading chart templates to use in your home!

If your little one isn’t reading independently yet, you can still print the chart and use it as a guideline for reading together!

How Do You Make Time for Reading?

Since Goose is still very much in the beginning stages, we have her read aloud so that we can monitor her progress. If I can’t sit right next to her, I’ll listen to her read while I do easy household tasks, like sorting laundry or chopping vegetables.

And as I mentioned, we always read as a family at night. The girls each pick books and my husband and I read to them as we settle down and get ready for bed. If Goose skips her chart one day, it’s okay because we know she’ll at least be read to at night time.

What Does She Read?

Anything she wants! We have a fairly stocked bookshelf so she can pick whatever she feels confident reading.

And my mom actually gifted Goose with an “I Can Read” subscription earlier this year. She gets mailed five new books every month so that’s primarily what she’s been interested in. They have a bunch of fun stories and are a nice combination of sight words and sounds.

How often do you read with your kids?

Be sure to check out these tips for raising a reader and see how to get free books every month!

And don’t forget to print these reading charts!

Talk to you soon!