Summer is fast approaching! I didn't have to tell you that twice, did I? If you have school aged children, I'm sure they remind you every day! With the great summer sun there comes beaches and parks and BBQs and picnics. Time spent with family around your town or off somewhere on a much needed vacation. Where ever you go and whatever you do, make sure you have some reading material with you! Tons of research has been done - children's reading skills slide down in the summer! It's not surprising really - three months of lots of fun and little schooling! Summer camps can be expensive, tutors cost even more, but there is something that doesn't cost a thing that as a parent you can do to help your child avoid falling victim to the summer slide this year - have your child READ! (or better yet, read with them!)
Something as simple as reading 20 minutes every day throughout the Summer will help your child from taking that summer slide! And you don't have to focus on "classic books" - if you have a reluctant reader, go for any reading material! Cereal boxes, "tourist trap" flyers, magazines, comic books, reading picture books to a younger sibling - anything! Count those minutes spent utilizing reading skills, and then hop over to your local library and join their summer reading program. As an added incentive, most provide prizes for either the number of books read (yes, IMO, they should count comic books!), or the number of pages and minutes read. You just can't get to a local library?!? Fine, some bookstores and book sellers offer summer reading incentive programs online - check them out and above all, KEEP READING THIS SUMMER!!!
Summer Reading Programs:
Schuler Books (visit your local store for details)Scholastic (help break a world record!)
