For the past three years, one of my New Year’s Resolutions has been to read a book a week, for a total of 52 books per year. In 2020, I challenged my kids to join me and called it the 50 Book Challenge. Should be easy, right? We have two free weeks built in! Haha. Whoever accomplished this by Dec 31, 2020 earned a prize.

My prize idea was to pick out a new book at the bookstore. Ha! Their idea of a prize was to pick out a donut at Dunkin’ Donuts. As the resident Best Mom Ever in our house, I made the executive decision to do both.

Here’s the thing. Through doing this challenge, I discovered that my kids often read in spurts. They find a series they love and read 5 books in two weeks. Then they don’t read except at bedtime for a couple more weeks. But the great part of the 50 Book Challenge is that this is okay. The point is to just read 50 books by the end of the year, no matter what your method is.

Study after study has shown that kids who read perform better in every area of school. Studies have also shown that adults who read have improved thinking skills, concentration, empathy, emotional intelligence and more! So join me in this challenge for 2021! It’s a fun way to get everyone motivated to read more.

I made this chart for us to keep track of our books—use it and join us! Download it here for free.