2024 7,000 Minutes Reading Challenge for Kids

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Download the 25-page printable 2024 7,000 Minutes Reading Challenge for kids to help support your children with their reading goals of 20 minutes (or more) of daily reading.

Where did I get 7,000 minutes? Well, if you read 20 minutes a day, the total hours read is 7,300 minutes! If you miss a few days, no problem; you will still get to 7,000 minutes.

Reading challenge for kids

What do you get in the 7,000 Minute Reading Adventure 24-page printable packet?

  • 3 30-day reading charts to color
  • 16 reading prompts bookmarks to color
  • 26 reading prompts to glue on craft sticks
  • 13 book lists for ages 6 to 12
  • reading reward ideas

2024 7,000 Minutes Reading Challenge for Kids

The 7,000 Minutes Reading Adventure 25-page printable booklet will help you create a daily reading habit so that your child reads well over 7,000 minutes this year.

Inside the printable, you’ll find three 30-day reading challenge printable coloring pages for kids to track and record their progress.

You can customize these calendars for any month you’re in or use it to help motivate your kids any season of 2024, even if it’s not 30 consecutive days. Something is always better than nothing!

Depending on your child, you may want to think of fun bookish rewards for 30 days of reading, or even shorter chunks like every 10 days.

READING REWARDS

All the research tells us that intrinsic motivation is best; that external rewards do more harm than good.

I get it. You get it.

But we live in the real world with unique, diverse kids who don’t always feel rewarded by self-satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. (DARN.)

So, if I have to externally motivate some readers, I will. Because I really want them spending time in books. But I try to make the external rewards literary-related.

Here are some reward ideas that aren’t too far removed from reading and writing.

  • Book Bucks
    Money to spend at a bookstore is ALWAYS motivating. Plus, your kids get to practice math skills of addition and subtraction. (And budgeting.)
  • Plush Reading Buddy
    Let your child pick a new stuffed animal to be their reading buddy.
  • Sticker or Coloring Books
    Get activity books with words the kids can read. Reading is reading!
  • Reading App Time
  • Library Card
  • Extra Read Aloud Time
  • Watch a Movie Based on a Book
  • A New Book Bag
  • Decor for a Cozy Reading Area
  • Journal
  • Reading Journal

COUNT THE TIME, NOT THE BOOKS

I purposely emphasize TIME read and do not count the number of books — and I have a very important reason.

Counting the number of books read encourages fake reading and skimming. In other words, it’s NOT about how fast a child reads but that they are reading. Right? Who cares if the child is a slower reader if they are reading?!

Some kids, my oldest included, actually have slower processing, which is how their brains work. She gets accommodations at school for time so she can show her intelligence — which is very high. All that to say, please encourage children not to count how many books they’ve read.

OR…JUST READ

That being said, for some kids, tracking time read KILLS the joy of reading. So, for those kids, have them read and don’t keep track of the time exactly. (No timers here.) These readers can read as long as they want. Sometimes, that might be 45 minutes. Sometimes, that might be 10 minutes. Read every day, plain and simple, without the pressure of a timer or looking at the clock.

Remember, reading books is the ultimate goal. Not books written by a certain author. Not so-called fancy books assigned by school. Not in a competition with anyone else but yourself. Reading, plain and simple, in order make progress as a reader.

COLORING BOOKMARKS WITH READING CHALLENGES

reading challenge for kids bookmark prompts

Use the printable bookmarks of reading challenge ideas to inspire your kids to read outside their comfort zone!

These are fun for growing readers who are reading chapter books. They can finally use bookmarks because they won’t necessarily be able to finish their book in one sitting. Fun!

READING PROMPTS ON CRAFT STICKS

reading prompts for kids on craft sticks

Print out the reading prompts and glue them to craft sticks. Have your readers pick one or two to do when they need new motivation or ideas for their daily reading.

As children become proficient readers, they’ll hopefully start to develop confidence and interest in a wide variety of genres and topics. If that is not happening, you might consider starting a book club to help your child read in a new genre or books set in different countries or historical periods. Book clubs can be very motivating! So can my new reading journal for kids.

Free 12 Book Reading Challenges for Kids

If you want to test the reading challenge waters to expand your child’s book genres, try my free 12 books in 12 different categories free printable download.

I’ve purposely built-in flexibility to make this easier to achieve. Alternatively, your children can set their own 12-book goal if these categories don’t appeal. Whatever gets them to read and read a variety of kinds of books which is the goal.

a year of reading challenges for kids (to increase books read, improve empathy, and introduce new genres)

My hope is that it will also help expand the genres your children read. You can use this to find new types of books to read that can increase awareness of the world and develop empathy for others.

First, you can download this free genre graph to keep track of what genres you’re reading. You have my permission to make copies to use in your classrooms and libraries.

My own kids prefer fantasy, but when they move to realistic and historical fiction books, I see how much their worlds expand. Have you noticed that when your kids move to other genres? Stories are one of the best ways to travel the world and walk in another’s shoes.

Maybe you could even do the challenge along with your kids? I think this will be tons of fun! What do you think?

Keep track of your books, either in a reading journal, Bookopolis, or Goodreads. Bookopolis is an online community for young readers where kids can read and review books. Even better, they can track reading goals and discover new books.

Read more about setting goals with kids here.

BOOK LOG ideas here.

Share the image on Pinterest and have fun reading!

Need book ideas for the reading challenge?

Don’t worry. I have lots of book recommendations (with reviews) for children here on Imagination Soup. In fact, matching kids with good books is my favorite thing to do. (Even to random strangers in the bookstore or library.) I’m weird like that.

Try these links to find good books for your kids. Show them the lists or a selection of books you think they’d like and let them choose. Choice is important to kids!

Follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook for more ideas and look for book reviews by age on the following pages:

Books for 1st Grade, 5- and 6- year-olds
Books for 2nd Grade, 7-year-olds
Books for 3rd Grade, 8-year-olds
Books for 4th Grade, 9-year-olds
Books for 5th Grade, 10-year-olds
Books for 6th Grade, 11-year-olds
Books for 7th Grade, 12-year-olds 

And don’t miss these book lists:

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    10 Comments

    1. Do you have a reading journal bundle that’s doable for both Teens & Adults, that’s completely FREE ??

    2. Just what my avid readers need! All of our girls don’t venture out of their favorite genres. I’m printing out 3 copies right now…

    3. I am an English teacher and the mom of an avid reader. I do a similar challenge with my students and my own child. It is fun to discover new books this way – ones you may not have picked up otherwise.

    4. When I was a child, I really liked lists and categories. I still do. I would have loved to do this challenge, but for now will have to wait until my son is a bit older. Unless… it may be fun to do this challenge with a toddler! 🙂