Summer Reading   

 

TJUE Parents!

Please encourage your child/children to read over the Summer Break. Check out the https://imaginationsoup.net/summer-reading-list-for-kids/  link. 

 Without reading, kids lose an average of one to three months of achievement over the summer. The more they read, the more they gain!

James Patterson offers 10 Tips to help stop the "summer slide!"

 

(1) Start Today! Summer Break is nearly here so get your kid(s) into reading, check out the suggested reading list mentioned above and get a book in ther hands NOW!

(2) Find books your kids love.  Talk with your child about their interests. Kids read more if they read what they like. E-Reader, paperbacks, hard covers, and comic books are all fine. Reading is the goal.

(3) Get a Library Card in your child's name.  Visit the local library...the resources they have for the summer are usually terrific. And the Children's Librarian will usually bend over backwards to help your child find fun stuff to read.

(4) Break down the Summer reading goal in smaller daily or weekly increments. Allot 30 minutes per day or a certain number of pages a day/week.

(5) Set aside a daily "no-electronics" time for summer reading.  Summer days are long--there's always time for reading, if we make it a priority.

(6) "Buddy Read" together.  Model reading with your child.  Read the same books together, and talk about them.

(7) Create a Summer Reading Club with friends.  It's always more fun if you can share the experience.

(8) Reward progress.  Set goals with your child, and track their achievements. Give them little "awards" for progress. Have a bigger end-of-summer reward.

(9) Travel with your books wherever you go.  Take them to the beach, in the car, on vacations, to the park, and to the pool. Make the "in between" moments count. Put books everywhere your kids might be bored and want to turn on the TV, such as the breakfast table, the bedside table-wherever.

(10) REMEMBER: It's up to you to make it fun. Don't turn it into a "Summer Chore" that must be done before you can have fun.  READING IS FUN! If it isn't, keep at it till they find books they can't put down. Then reward yourself, Mom and Dad, because you have just given your child/children the best present you could ever have imagined: the gift of reading--for life.

 

"McGill-Franzen, A., & Allington R. (2003 May/June) "Bridging the Summer Reading Gap" Instructor 112 no.8