Picture-book swap: you read one page, your grown-up reads the next
Taking turns makes it a game, not a test
Off-screenAges 6–11EasyTimed
Reading · 36 quests · 22 off-screen
Reading activities kids don't have to be dragged to
Most kids don't dislike reading. They dislike being told what to read, and then being quizzed on it. The reading quests in Tandomo flip that around: the child picks the book, the article or even the song, and the task asks them to do something interesting with it — predict a plot twist, find the three weirdest facts, spot a metaphor in lyrics they already know by heart.
Short, regular reading also stacks up. Fifteen minutes on an ordinary Tuesday is easy to agree to, and a steady run of ordinary Tuesdays is where reading stamina comes from. For older kids the tasks lean toward opinion and analysis; for younger ones they lean toward making something out of what they read.
For younger kids (about 6–11)
Shorter, more playful, more hands-on. 10 quests.
+10
Read a recipe aloud while your grown-up follows it exactly — no peeking
Your words decide if the pancakes work
Off-screenAges 6–11EasyTick off when done
Funny-voice reading: one page as a robot, one as a pirate, one as a mouse
Silly voices sneak in fluency
Off-screenAges 6–11EasyTick off when done
Cereal-box detective: read every word on a food box, find 3 surprising facts
The breakfast table is a reading lab
Off-screenAges 6–11EasyShort written answer
Read a short poem twice, then act it out with no words
Charades with a poem
Off-screenAges 6–11EasyTick off when done
Sign hunt on the drive: read 10 signs aloud and guess what each one warns about
The road is a book
Off-screenAges 6–11EasyTick off when done
Show all 10 quests
Bedtime chapter, but you stop at the cliffhanger and everyone guesses what's next
Suspense the whole family shares
Off-screenAges 6–11EasyTick off when done
Treasure notes: your grown-up hides 5 written clues around the house, read each to find the next
Reading that pays off in treasure
Off-screenAges 6–11EasyTick off when done
Read aloud for 5 minutes to a pet, plant or soft toy
An audience that never corrects you
Off-screenAges 6–11EasyTimed
Read a 1-page story in the app, then answer 4 "why" questions
Short story, big thinking
OnlineAges 6–11EasyAuto-checked quiz
For teens (12–16)
Longer, more open, more grown-up. 4 quests.
Read a long-form article on something you care about, then write the 3-line summary
Grown-up reading, your topic
OnlineAges 12–16MediumShort written answer
Read two opposite opinion pieces on one question — where do they actually disagree?
Thinks like a journalist
OnlineAges 12–16HardShort written answer
Read the terms of a phone plan or game and find the 2 sneakiest rules
Nobody reads the small print. Now you do
OnlineAges 12–16HardShort written answer
Read a real contract-style document (a rental ad, a warranty) and explain the 3 rules that matter
Adult paperwork, decoded
OnlineAges 12–16HardShort written answer
Great at any age
Scale the difficulty up or down to suit your child. 22 quests.
Read anything you choose for 15 min
Free choice = autonomy, not assigned reading
Off-screenAll agesEasyTimed
Read a random Wikipedia "featured article" — tell me the 3 weirdest facts
Surprise + trivia bragging rights
OnlineAll agesEasyShort written answer
Read one chapter of your current book, predict what happens next (5 sentences)
Feels like theorizing, not homework
OnlineAll agesMediumShort written answer
Read a short myth/legend, then draw the monster on paper
Reading → making
Off-screenAll agesEasyTick off when done
Read the lyrics of a song you like, find 2 metaphors
Uses their music, not a textbook poem
OnlineAll agesMediumShort written answer
Comic strip remix: read a comic, then cover the speech bubbles and write new ones
Same pictures, your jokes
Off-screenAll agesMediumTick off when done
Show all 22 quests
Waiting-room reading: read one page of whatever is on the table, tell it back in 3 sentences
Boredom, defeated
Off-screenAll agesEasyTick off when done
Read an old letter, postcard or note from a grandparent — ask them one question about it
Family history in their handwriting
Off-screenAll agesEasyTick off when done
Instruction leaflet challenge: read the manual of a household gadget, teach someone one feature
The manual nobody reads — you did
Off-screenAll agesMediumTick off when done
Read a fable, then argue: is the moral actually true?
You get to disagree with Aesop
OnlineAll agesMediumShort written answer
Read the first page of 3 different books — pick which one to finish and say why
Be the editor who picks the winner
Off-screenAll agesEasyShort written answer
Read a news story about animals, explain it to someone younger
Translator for the little ones
OnlineAll agesMediumShort written answer
Spot the opinion: read a short review and mark every sentence that's fact or feeling
Media-savvy, not grammar
OnlineAll agesMediumAuto-checked quiz
Read a scene from a play with a parent — each takes a part, swap and read it again
A two-person theater company
Off-screenAll agesMediumTick off when done
Family book club: everyone reads the same short story, then rates it out of 10 at dinner
Your opinion counts as much as a parent's
Off-screenAll agesMediumTick off when done
Read 10 pages outside — on a bench, a blanket or a step
Same book, fresh air
Off-screenAll agesEasyTimed
Read a map legend and find 5 symbols on the real map
Maps are a language too
Off-screenAll agesEasyTick off when done
Read a biography chapter, then write 3 questions you'd ask that person
Interview someone from history
OnlineAll agesMediumShort written answer
Speed-read vs slow-read: read one page fast, one slowly, which did you remember more of?
An experiment on your own brain
Off-screenAll agesMediumShort written answer
Read a poem in English and one in another language your family knows — which sounds better aloud?
Two languages, one ear
Off-screenAll agesMediumShort written answer
Who said it? Match 5 famous story lines to the character who said them
A quiz about stories you already know
OnlineAll agesEasyAuto-checked quiz
Headline detective: 5 headlines — which ones are real and which are made up?
Catch the fake before it catches you
OnlineAll agesMediumAuto-checked quiz
At home
How to run reading quests at home
You don't need the app to use these. A few habits make them work much better.
- Let them choose the material. A comic, a soccer biography or a game wiki all count; the goal is reading volume and attention, not a reading list.
- Keep the response short. Three facts, five sentences or one drawing is plenty — a long written report is how reading turns back into homework.
- Ask about it later, casually, the way you'd ask about a film. Curiosity from you is the best follow-up question there is.
- If the child is a reluctant reader, start with the offline, timer-based quest and skip the written part for the first week.
How Tandomo uses these
The quests above are templates, not a fixed list. Each morning the app writes a new set for each child, adapting ideas like these to their age, their interests and anything you've asked it to focus on — so a pizza-sharing problem might become a pizza-sharing problem about their soccer team. Reading usually appears as one or two quests in a mixed set of 7–10, alongside other subjects and plenty of off-screen time. Your feedback on the parent dashboard steers what comes next (more in the FAQ).
Reading activities: common questions
What should my child read for these quests?
Whatever they want, as long as it's real reading: novels, comics, non-fiction, magazines, articles about their hobby. Several quests deliberately say “anything you choose” because choice is what keeps kids reading.
My kid reads a lot already. Is this still useful?
Yes — for keen readers the value is in the response: predicting, comparing, picking out a metaphor, explaining why a fact is surprising. Those are the habits that turn reading a lot into reading well.
How long does a reading quest take?
Most take 10–20 minutes. The longest is reading one chapter and writing a five-sentence prediction, which suits teens.
Related reading
Reading quests, built around your kid
Take the short quiz and get a free 7-day plan with quests like these, personalized to your child.
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