Inside: This Dragon Reading Challenge is a fantastic way to build reading discipline and gain momentum for the new year. The free printable includes dragon-themed artwork for each day of the challenge + a finisher medal.
For many years we’ve celebrated Dragon Day with dragon fire, dragon crackers, dragon art, and other dragon-themed activities.
But then we thought, “Hey! How about a whole month of dragon fun?!” Among many different ideas that we discussed, the winner was the Dragon Book Challenge. So for the whole month last year, we read dragon-themed books. (We even re-read the whole Wings of Fire series (affiliate link)!
This year we decided not to limit ourselves to dragons (mostly because we couldn’t find any dragon books we haven’t read yet). All books are fun, right?! Books about cakes, science, and mud. The idea is to encourage reading, exploring books, and getting your kids on the right foot for the new year.
I find a timed challenge can go a long way in helping to establish the right habit. What habit?
A reading habit!
Using a dragon theme helps to get things started but once the reading momentum is going, interests tend to branch out. What are your kids passionate about? Maybe a good place to start is to read books to inspire your kids to find their passion (Yep! We made a list for that).
All you have to do is to commit to reading at least one picture book each day or 15 minutes of reading any book.
But don’t worry if your older kids want to read picture books. My teenager loves to read my husband’s military history books but he also reads every picture book that comes into our house (and that’s a few hundred books a year).
Picture books can be extremely educational and mind-stimulating for adults as well as kids. Oftentimes, the themes tackled in children’s books are as profound as in any other literature – family relationships, teamwork, accepting differences, honesty, trust, belonging, and so much more.
Color-As-You-Go
When you are done reading for the day, color a dragon-themed art in our printable challenge. That’s it!
You can read them aloud, alone, with Mom, Dad, Brother, Sister, Puppy, or your parakeet.
If your kids start getting bored halfway into the month, try some ways to spice things up.
- Read in the dark with a flashlight under the covers – feels so secretive and exciting!
- Take a book outside
- Arrange your child’s favorite toys and read to them
- Act out the story right after you’re done reading it
- Read in a whisper, with a silly accent, or in a song!
The only thing that matters is that you read a book every day or read for at least 15 minutes every day.
So, are you up for the challenge?
To download the printable, enter your email HERE and I will send you the challenge + the finisher medal.
Oh yes, did I mention the finisher medal?
You can cut out the medal and hang it on the wall, or just print out the page and keep it on your desk (in a photo frame, for example) as a reminder of the good reading times (or as a continuous motivation).
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