DIY Tween Room Reading Nook

My girl doesn’t like to read. She is a creative soul, and she loves math and art, but reading isn’t her strong suit, never has been. I know I was the same way when I was her age. A book really had to grab me before I actively wanted to read something. And growing up, I usually only read because it was a required assignment for school. Reading is so important, especially during the Summer months. I don’t want her to lose the learning momentum she had at the end of the school year. My niece, on the other hand, can devour a book in a couple of days. My girl needs a little more motivation.

So, how do you motivate your child to read when they aren’t a natural reader?

One idea is to read with them. I don’t think I ever read for pleasure until I was an adult, and one of my favorite series is the ever popular Harry Potter series. Honestly, these books aren’t just for kids. I read the whole series multiple times before my daughter was even born. I couldn’t wait until she was old enough, so that we could enjoy the Harry Potter series together. I still like to read with her at night before bed. It’s our own one on one time. We are in the middle of Book 4 right now. Our tradition is to read a book in the series and then plan a mother/daughter Harry Potter movie night viewing the book we just finished reading.

Another idea is to create a special reading space or “nook”. Today I’m sharing my tween’s new reading nook that I recently hung in her room.

I started with a fun patterned twin sized flat sheet and an XL 18″ embroidery hoop that I found at my local Michaels.

I folded over about 3″ on the top and bottom of the sheet to create two open seams. On the top seam, I strung a about 2′ of ribbon through and tied it together to gather it together into one small circle.

Tip: it is easier to string a soft ribbon through by attaching a safety pin on one end. That way you can feel for the safety pin and more easily string it all the way through.

Then I attached the large embroidery hoop around the sheet about 18″ from the top to create the top canopy section.

Then I used a length of plastic clear tubing that I found at my local hardware store. They sell it by the foot, and it is normally in the plumbing section. I used about 6′ of tubing and strung it through the bottom open seam. This gives it the needed weight and rounded shape for the reading nook to hang nicely.

Finally, I added a little flair to the outer edge of the embroidery hoop by adding a fun multicolored pom pom trim that I also found at Michaels. I attached it with my glue gun.

That’s it! The rest was just hanging it from the ceiling.

For ease of use, I found these “Super Hooks” that simply go into your wall or ceiling making only a small hole. They are shaped in such a way that the end of the hook grabs onto the wall on the inside and uses the power of gravity to hold it into place.