For kids, summer is that release from responsibility. No homework, no early mornings being rushed off to school, no books . . . WAIT! No books??!
Kids desperately want to separate themselves from the routine and requirements of school. And summer, with its relaxed mood, is perfect for reading. So how do we combine the two strategically without making it more assigned work?
Every community has its fill of summer reading programs for kids. Do a Google search to see what you can find in your area. Public libraries are the best places to start! Most library systems have
summer reading programs with rewards for numbers of books read or minutes spent reading. Next year, Once Upon a Storybook with have Book Bingo! As kids read books and mark off on a bingo grid, they will qualify for a big pizza party at the end of the summer.
In addition to summer reading programs, you could host a neighborhood book exchange. Every kid brings a book or two, lays them out on a table, and selects another book from a friend. You could host an ice cream party at the end of the summer so the kids could discuss their shared book experiences.
My parents took a couple of kidless vacations while I was growing up. Mom would pack my suitcase for my trip to stay with Grandma, and as I unpacked, there would be a surprise! A new book or two tucked away in the bottom of my suitcase. I still remember reading Little Women one summer in my grandparent's guest bedroom. (And I still wish someone would have told me that Jo was a GIRL!!) For what special events can books be a special surprise for your kids this summer?
Reading Rules for Summer
May I suggest that there are none? Kids have so many school assignments over which they have little choices. Summer is a time for freedom of choice. Your kid just wants to read comic books? That's okay! It's summer! Your kid wants to reread all of the Magic Treehouse books she's already read 4 times. That's okay! It's summer! Your teen wants to read romantic stories full of fluff and foolery. That's okay! It's summer!
Study after study has shown that kids who read during the summer tend to not have the same dip in comprehension that kids who don't summer read do. However, the content of the reading has very little effect on the fall results. What matters is the act of reading . . . reading for enjoyment . . . reading for entertainment.
And let's remember perhaps the most important tip of all: Kids mimic what is modeled? So . . . What are YOU reading this summer?
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