With the school year ending and Summer approaching I want to make sure my little kindergarten graduate doesn’t forget any of the reading skills she has learned during the past year. Lucky for me, Dr. Tim Shanahan, the president of the International Reading Association, has some great Summer reading tips.
1. Read Together! Summer usually allows families to spend more time together. This is a great opportunity to read more with your kids to help keep their skills fresh. Children learn a lot when you read to them. Even if your child can read by himself, take turns reading to each other, and be sure to talk about what you are reading. Ask questions, answer questions and explore the ideas together.
2. Share the Experience. As kids get older, help them find books, magazines, or newspaper articles that they would enjoy reading. Take the time to read them too so you can discuss them. The point is to share the reading experience.
3. Ask Questions. Even if you are not reading the same books they are, talk to your children about what they are reading. Ask them questions such as what happened in the story or what might happen next, who is their favorite character, or who is the villain. This builds summarization and recall skills, and your interest helps increase their interest.
4. Designate a Reading Spot. Create a summer reading nook or spot in your home where your child can read. Make sure there is good light and comfortable seating and try to set aside one TV/video-game-free night per week for family reading. Reading night can be a special snack night, too. There is nothing better than reading with a big bowl of popcorn!
5. Use Resources. If your children’s school program provides materials for home activities over the summer, absolutely use them.
6. Find Reading Opportunities Everywhere. If you are taking a trip this summer, send for brochures and maps and have your children read them aloud with you.
7. Leverage Pop Culture. Don’t ignore the value of graphic novels or a popular series like the Twilight books or Harry Potter. These are great ways to encourage adolescents to read more.
8. Plan an Outcome Activity. Whether you are reading to your children or they are reading themselves, plan an outcome event or activity based on the reading. For instance, if the book has been made into a movie, watch the DVD together after reading the book. Book reading can lead to picnics, museum visits, ballgames or even family vacations.
9. Write Letters to Your Children. Writing to your kids is a great opportunity to remind them of experiences that they had when they were younger or to tell them about the lives of older people in the family, like their grandparents. Kids love getting letters and you can even encourage them to write back, helping them practice their writing skills.
10. Mix it up. Don’t just focus on storybooks. Kids often prefer to read about fact rather than fiction, including books and articles about the environment, animals, current events, sports, and other topics. Talk to them about what they like and help them find reading materials that match those interests.
I’m very excited for my daughter Taylor because she loves to read. She is reading far better than I expected she would be at this age. She is turning six in a couple of weeks and can read most 5-6 letter words that follow basic phonic skills. Sometimes she gets stumped with words that have silent letters and such but I think that is to be expected from a recent kindergarten grad.
I’m also very excited because I get to offer my fabulous readers a giveaway of 3 age appropriate readers from the Treasures program.
Giveaway:
One lucky reader will win a series of 3 Treasures books specifically chosen for their child’s age group.
How to Enter:
Let’s make it simple! Just leave me a comment with your own Summer reading tip.
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This giveaway will end on June 16th at 10:00 PM Central time. Winner will be chosen via random.org. US entries only, please. The winner must contact me in 48 hours to claim their prize. Good luck to everyone!
The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely that of the blog owners. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider.
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Read for 20-30 minutes a day before anything else.
I read to my son as much as I can!
One great way to get kids involved is to take books outside. If you’re reading a book about bugs, take your child out to see first hand the bugs that they’re reading about. If they’re reading a book about camping, then set up a tent in the backyard and try and recreate the story they’re reading. Getting kids involved helps them truely enjoy the story they’re reading. It also allows them to use their imagination and keeps them learning.
I get the kids involved in the summer reading program and we read (as we do year round) every evening — each kid picks a book and I pick a book as well and we snuggle on the bed and read and talk about the books. It’s a lot of fun.
My summer reading trip is to go to the library often!! My kids think a trip to the library is a HUGE treat. We go and participate in the programs they have, we do the summer reading program, and of COURSE we pick out tons of books to read when we get home. So they think the library and reading is fun!!!
Thanks.
don’t save reading for bedtime! Take a book along in the diaper bag your purse and read while at the beach, waiting in line or in the car.
I encourage my son to love reading by letting him choose his own books and reading everyday! Thanks for the chance!
I am a subscriber. Thanks for the chance!
I tweeted at http://twitter.com/justicecw/status/2182390974
We go to the library once a week to pick out books
We love going to the library. Ours has special events during the summer, and they can be alot of fun for kids.
I try to look at yard sales for children’s books that will intrest my siblings. It makes more sense to buy 4 books for a dollar rather than one book for 20 dollars! Plus there is usually some good “classics” like Judy Blume’s books.
autielady[at]live.com
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my son loves watching tv shows about science and nature, so i try to buy him books to match his interests
It’s built in to my little one’s schedule ~ it helps to make sure we encourage him!
I’m an email subscriber.
I follow on twitter and tweeted. http://twitter.com/susanlanai/status/2189118972
I faved in Technorati.
I save interesting articles from the newspaper for my nine year old to read!
Use time in the car as reading time! My kids don’t like reading at home but will do it willingly when they are stuck in the car with nothing better to do!
We have family time together to discuss books we have read or would love to read.
i try to have my son do at least a half hour of reading before he plays.he has to do a book report over the summer on chinese heritage which is pretty cool
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http://twitter.com/klp1965/status/2194930861
I bought a boxed set of books I loved as a kid and now my kids want to read them.
have specific reading time every day, and make it an expectation…however I give my kids free rein on what to read, and this keeps it fun for them
Summer Reading Tip: Make reading fun! Going to the library should be an adventure.
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I blogged about this giveaway.
http://nomorecages.blogspot.com/2009/06/treasures-reading-giveaway.html
Entry #1
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I blogged about this giveaway.
http://nomorecages.blogspot.com/2009/06/treasures-reading-giveaway.html
Entry #2
.-= Christine Walker´s last blog ..$35 Eden Fantasys Giveaway! =-.
I blogged about this giveaway.
http://nomorecages.blogspot.com/2009/06/treasures-reading-giveaway.html
Entry #3
.-= Christine Walker´s last blog ..$35 Eden Fantasys Giveaway! =-.
I subscribe via reader.
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I tweeted and follow on Twitter.
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I stumbled this post.
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I added Simply Being Mommy to my Technorati favorites.
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I have your button on my blog.
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We have library visits twice a week!
We use books as traveling aids.. Plus, we add a special book if we travel somewhere that is different.. ie.. historical or fun…
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A couple of months ago, my daughter went on a field trip and brought home some crystals. She was really interested in the subject and I took her to the bookstore to choose some books on the subject. She has had so much fun reading them and talking about what she has learned. I would say that a good tip is get books on subjects that will interest and stimulate their children and show interest in what they want to learn about.
we keep books in a car and we read when going places
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Read as much as the little ones want!
We read every night at bedtime, and we also keep books in the car for the kids to read while we are driving around.
jlilleysprint@earthlink.net
We try to read simple stories together that we all can help read
My summer reading tip is to bring books with me wherever I go.
I subscribed by email.
I encourage mine to just go outside and relax under our big oak tree reading their fav books