Get Kids Itching to Read with a Scratch-off Book List

Do your kids typically participate in summer reading programs? I hope so because reading is a great way to help prevent summer slide. But you know what? I don't know which summer reading programs will be available this year! 

So, I decided we were going to make our own  Summer Reading Challenge with these fun Scratch Off Summer Reading Charts to encourage reading habits through the summer! 

Scratch off charts are a big thing right now from scratch off maps to record your travels  to scratch off ballpark bucket lists to top 100 movies. The one I liked best was the Top 100 books, but this is not a kid friendly list, and I wanted it to be something fun for them; not something huge and overwhelming like 100 books!

So, I let each of my kids choose 10 books that they want to read this summer. The only real requirement was that they have not read them before. The youngest isn't a fluent reader yet, so I chose the first 10 books from her My First Reading Library. The first 2 are repeats for her, but repetition is good when you are headed into kindergarten, and I wanted her to participate too.

Selecting specific books was a new things for them too. Normally they just have a number of hours to complete for the library, and so a lot of our books go un-read. I loved that this gave them a reason to make specific reading goals and scour our home library for books they wanted to read. I really want to work on goal setting with the older 2 especially, so this is an easy start.

Then I took their stacks of books, and turned them into a personalized Scratch-off Reading List! 

Supplies to Make a Scratch-off Reading Chart

• Card stock
• Acrylic paint in the color of your choice
• Liquid dish soap
• Clear contact paper
• Dish to mix in
• Paint brush
  

How to Create a Scratch-off Summer Reading Chart

Start off by creating your book list. I personalized ours, but I made a generic one for you all to print off with blanks to write the titles in and emojis to hide under the scratch off paint. Or you could make your own if you are good at that sort of thing.

Print off your chart of card stock. This paint will not hold up well on plain paper, so be sure you use card stock!

Now you are ready to paint. I didn't measure anything when I mixed up my scratch-off paint. I squirted 2 similar size drops of paint in a bowl and one somewhat equal amount of dish soap. I spread them out in a disposable bowl, so I could see they were approximately the same amount. Then just stir it all up!

Cut your contact paper to cover the area of the books.You are going to paint on the shiny side of the contact paper to make scratch-off stickers. As you can see below, you can see through the contact paper even with the backing on, so that makes it easier when you need to know how big an area to cover with paint.

Then paint! Cover the area with a thin coat and let dry. It will be thin; you will be able to see through it. That's fine because you will do it again and again. It takes at least three coats for the scratch-off paint to really cover well. Some of ours probably could have used a fourth coat, but I left it as is. 

When I painted I just went over the entire area of the books. This gave me a little extra in case I messed up on a sticker which happened occasionally because not all book covers are the same width. Occasionally I would also scratch-off some of the paint when removing the backing, so the extra came in handy then too.

Now you can leave it to dry. I left mine overnight before cutting them, and they were still a little sticky the next day, but you could definitely work with them. After a coupe nights they dry completely to the more chalky feeling you normally think of when you think of scratch-offs.

Now you are ready to apply your new scratch-off stickers to your reading chart! Grab your scissors or slide cutter and get started.

This is where the back of the contact paper comes in handy. Most contact paper has little squares on the back. I used those to measure my book covers, so I knew how big to make my stickers. Most of mine were 2 1/2 by 3 1/2 or so. Of course, you can use a ruler and measure if you prefer, but this was easier than hunting down a ruler, and I wasn't aiming for perfection.

Now you just have to remove the backing from your little rectangles and cover up your books! Now you have a summer reading chart.

I have told my kids once they finish the first one, I will make them another one as well. No reason to limit summer reading. After all reading, is one of the easiest ways to prevent the dreaded summer slide! 

And I didn't mention their prize for this...a book! Just like the library programs, I promised them a new book for completing their charts. If new books aren't in your budget right now, look for used, or you can check this post out about getting books for free!

Before I even had them made my kids were itching to scratch those scratch-offs! So we of course gave them a try!

This little trial also gave me the idea to make a printable summer reading sheet that you could take an use for your own kids! Grab it in the resource library! There is a pdf or a jpg download. The jpg you should be able to add your own book covers over the squares if you like!

You will have to be an email subscriber to access the resource library, so if you aren't yet you can do that below.

Subscribe for Downloads

Sign up for our weekly email for access to our subscriber only downloads.

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list. Watch your email for the password to our Resource Page.

I know these kiddos were super excited to get scratching on their summer reading lists. In fact, we started 2 days ago, and 2 of them already have 3 scratched off! Hope their reading excitement lasts all summer, and I have to make a bunch more scratch-off reading charts for them. And to be honest, I kind of want to make one for myself too.

Looking for more ways to encourage kids to love reading? Hop in my Facebook group: Life with Moore Books!