10 Ways to Make Literature Fun for Your Kids

Looking for ways to make literature fun for your kids?

Below is a list of activities that you might try using with some of the books in your homeschool.

While you can’t use every activity with every book, I think you’ll find that some of them will work perfectly with certain titles you have on your bookshelves.

Enjoy!

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10 Ways to Make Literature Fun

1. Listen to Audiobooks

Audiobooks are enjoyable for kids to listen to because the narrators, who are typically actors, read with expression and sometime modify their voices to fit different characters. Audiobooks are also great entertainment for road trips. You can check out audiobooks from your local library, purchase cd’s online, or subscribe to Audible Audiobooks on Amazon.

2. Role Play

One fun activity children can do is to dress up as characters from a story and act out scenes from the book. This can really make a story come alive for them! You can get costumes and props online or make them at home.

3. Color in Coloring Books

Children love to color! Coloring pictures of scenes from a story they are reading can be doubly enjoyable for them. Dover has a Classic Stories Coloring Book series that has such well-known favorites as:

• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
• The Secret Garden
• Anne of Green Gables
• Black Beauty
• Shakespeare Plays
• Alice in Wonderland
• Little Women
• Sherlock Holmes
• Arabian Nights
• Beowulf
• A Little Princess
• Dickens’ Novels
• The Adventures of Ulysses

4. Do Word Puzzles

Some websites have printable word searches, crossword puzzles, or other word puzzles that are based on stories. Use Google to find these resources.

5. Create Art

Some children may enjoy drawing scenes from a story. They can also do crafts or art projects that relate to literature in some way. Some examples of projects that go with books include:

• Corn husk dolls for Little House in the Big Woods
• A Mad Hatter hat for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
• A ring for The Hobbit
• A cardboard wardrobe for The Chronicles of Narnia
• A hot air balloon model for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Also, things like bookmarks, door hangers, and puppets can be made for any story.

6. Watch Movies

It can be fun to compare a movie to the book it was created from. I highly recommend that the book be read before watching the movie so that the reader can visualize the story in her own way before seeing another person’s interpretation.

7. Visit Websites

Sometimes you can find websites that have useful information and fun activities associated with a book like this Magic Tree House page.

8. Do Writing Activities

Kids can do fun writing activities that go with a book. Some possibilities include riddles like you find in The Hobbit, a treasure map like that in Treasure Island, or nonsense verse similar to the “Jabberwocky” poem found in Through the Looking-Glass. If you need some inspiration, I have lists of creative writing ideas and practical writing ideas that may help you out.

9. Play Games

Board games are another enjoyable activity that can bring a story to life. You can find games that have been created from books on Amazon. Some that are available include Wizard of Oz Game and
Lord of the Rings Risk.

10. Let Your Kids Play with Storybook Toys

Other toys besides games such as figures, dolls, tea sets, and puzzles can bring books to life because they encourage pretend play and reenactment of the stories.

If you’d like some MORE ideas on how to make literature come alive for your children, you might want to listen to Susan Evan’s workshop, Making Literature Fun. She not only has suggestions on how to make literature fun for kids, but also techniques for helping children advance in their reading. I listened to it and found that it had some very practical tips that homeschoolers can easily implement in their school day.

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Many blessings,