The Joys of Reading
10 ways to turn your kids into summer bookworms
By Sarah Darer Littman
School’s out, but that doesn’t mean children should stop hitting the books. Studies show it’s important for kids to read during summer to maintain their literacy skills. But how do you get them to pick up a book when there are so many distracting alternatives for vacation fun?
The key is to remember that summer reading is for pleasure, not self-improvement, so anything is fair game: Don’t be afraid to break out comic books, graphic novels, romances, anything that will grab your child’s interest. Get help from the people who know children’s books best — your librarian and independent bookseller. They derive great satisfaction from connecting young people with books they’ll love.
Here are some age–appropriate tips to help you encourage summer reading.
Younger Children
Older Children
The most important tip of all? Make sure your kids see you reading for pleasure. If their most frequent sight is you staring at a computer screen or checking your BlackBerry, it’s unlikely that they’ll be inspired to pick up a book. For emphasis, try what a friend of mine did: She instituted Family Reading Hour during the summer. They all sit in the same room with their books for at least one hour in the evening. You are the most important role model for your kids, so try reading together!
Sarah Darer Littman is the award-winning author of Confessions of a Closet Catholic and Purge. Her novel, Life, After will be published by Scholastic Press in July of next year.
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Sarah-- Great suggestions. I love the audio for car trips. We've even knocked off a couple of summer reading requirements using the audio books ( with the teacher's permission!). Lian Dolan
Summer learning loss, is a very real phenomenon, it impacts children living in poverty the most, and its effects are cumulative.