June is routinely seen as the end of the school year and August as the start of another. For children, summer vacation is a time for carefree fun, rid of any thought of school or study.
However, conclusive research from the past century has proven the existence of what many educators call the “Summer Slide,” the unfortunate decline in a student’s abilities after a two-and-a-half month summer learning hiatus.
Engaging kids in fun summer learning activities motivates them to continue their growth in reading and learning throughout the summer. When summer reading becomes part of the fun, students build even more confidence in their abilities and become excited about returning to school. Here are some tips to help make summer reading part of the fun:
Take your child on regular trips to the library
Taking a trip to the library is a fun reading centered activity that children love. Make regular visits to the library and let your child spend as much or as little time as they want picking out books to take home.
Make reading part of the summer routine
Now, this can be a hard sell next to television, video games, and other distractions. If you’re having trouble, do what my mom did. Thirty minutes of reading earned me one ticket, which I could then trade in for thirty minutes of screen time.
Lead by example
One of the biggest factors that determines if a student will be a lifelong reader is seeing someone in their family set that example. Keep lots of reading material around the house and focus on reading at least one hour each day.
Ask and answer lots of questions
Reading lots of different books out loud helps children build phonic skills and read fluently. And, talking about books, answering questions, and re-telling stories helps children develop the ability to understand language.
Make a summer fun journal
Combine your child’s favorite summer activities with writing prompts. Have your child pick out or craft a summer fun journal, and when you visit their favorite restaurant, visit a special place or take a trip to Grandma’s, they can write a short entry in their journal afterwords.
Read everything, everywhere
Join your child in reading billboards, signs, pamphlets, cereal boxes and everything with printed words. If you go on an trip to a theme park, have your child be responsible for the map and read the rules and names of rides.
The key to success with summer reading is to help make the reading part of the fun. Make the library a fun destination, turn the act of reading into a game, and combine literacy skills with the things your children already love. It’s possible to keep kids academically practiced while also letting them enjoy the lightness of their youth.
Posted in: Education, Youth & Teen
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