Summertime is upon us! Time to let littles relax and have fun…playing outdoors, staying up late, and reading!
Reading? YES!
Research shows that kids who do not read over the summer can suffer from “summer slide” or “brain drain.” Did you know that loss of reading skills during the summer months is cumulative? These losses add up! By fifth grade, summer reading loss can leave students who do not read in the summer, 2–3 years behind their peers who do read during the summer. Let’s not forget the other obvious benefits we know about reading – it lowers stress, and improves vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency.
We know it can be difficult to get your children to read when they are supposed to be on a “break” from all things school, but check out these resources and events going on this summer…hopefully, these events will help make reading and learning over the summer break a little easier for you and your children!
P.S. – Don’t forget to be a reading role model! Take time for yourself this summer to sit in a hammock and READ! Magazines, comic books, catalogs, cookbooks – reading is reading and if your children see you reading, chances are they will want to read too!
Richland Library Summer Learning Challenge
Richland Library has a summer learning program for all ages (0-adult)! Children and adults can read and learn for prizes (including tickets to the Columbia Museum of Art and a select Columbia Fireflies game). The Summer Reading Challenge is from May 30 through August 8.
Lexington County Public Library Summer Reading
Summer Reading is fun for all ages. Grab a tracking card at your local branch starting May 1. Keeping up with summer reading is easy with options for online record-keeping and paper tracking cards. Whatever works best for you. Download the Beanstack Tracker app for Android and iOS systems. From exciting programs and exhilarating reads to museum and park passes, you choose your adventure.
Chuck E. Cheese Reading Rewards
Read 14 books for 14 days and get 10 free tokens. Print off a reading rewards calendar for your children. This is a program you can participate in all year long!
Barnes and Noble Summer Reading Program
Participation is a fun and easy way for kids in grades 1-6 to earn free books. They simply read a designated number of books – library books, books borrowed from friends or books bought at Barnes & Noble – write about their favorite part in their Reading Journal and bring a completed Reading Journal to a Barnes & Noble bookstore. Children then choose their free book from the books listed on the Reading Journal and collect their free book from a store near them during July and August.
Reading Rockets
Reading Rockets is a national multimedia project that offers a wealth of research-based reading strategies, lessons, and activities designed to help young children learn how to read and read better. Reading Rockets assist parents, teachers, and other educators in helping struggling readers build fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension skills. This is not a summer reading program, but a great website to get ideas and book lists.
Book It! Summer Reading
Use the BOOK IT! Mobile App to set goals, track progress, and redeem rewards. During the summer months of June, July, and August, any child that meets their parent-set reading goals can earn a free Pizza Hut® single topping Personal Pan Pizza from participating locations.
School Reading Camps
Check with your child’s school to see if your school district is offering any reading camps this summer. Many school districts offer them; all you need to do is ask!
There you go! There are many choices for summer reading – don’t make yourself crazy doing all of the summer reading programs. The most important thing you can do this summer to promote reading at home is to give your child TIME to read what they want.
Let them choose books to check out that are too easy, just right, and too challenging. Those challenging books will provide an excellent opportunity for families to read together and to have important discussions. Those “too easy” books allow children to read something they feel comfortable with. They may just want to visit old friends in a book.
Also, please don’t worry about reading levels or grade levels…choice is powerful…use the flexibility of summertime to give them choice! If you do, I think you will be surprised by the reader you have at the end of summer and your child’s teacher will be happy to have an authentic reader in their classroom!
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