Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) said, “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”

Studies show, that, without summer reading, over 75% of elementary school students return to school at or below the level they had when they left in September.  While this is disturbing information, the solution to the “summer setback” is clear:  The best predictor of summer loss or gain is whether or not a child reads during the summer.  Since the losses are largest in the summers of the first three to four years of school, "preventing these losses, particularly over the first few summers, could make the gap much smaller."

Here are some practices to follow to help your child retain his/her reading level during the summer months.

 

1. Make sure you have books available at home to read.
2. Have your child read aloud so you can gauge his/her progress.
3. Set a good example:  Children need to see you reading!
4. Teach children that reading is about pleasure.
5. Don’t measure by the number of books read, but the time spent reading.
6. Help designate a special reading spot just for your child.
7. Joke books, comics, newspapers and magazines make good reading, too.
8. Read the same book along with your child – let your child recommend a book to you!
9. Make reading relaxing and low-key for a short part of the day.
10. Read aloud some funny or interesting parts of a book that you’re reading. 

Read to your child:   According to Jim Trelease, renowned reading lecturer and author of the Read-Aloud Handbook: Whenever an adult reads to a child, three important things are happening simultaneously and painlessly.

A pleasure-connection is being made between child and book;

Both parent and child are learning something from the book they're sharing (double learning);

The adult is pouring sounds and syllables called words into the child's ear.

If your child has reading difficulties, help him/her out by reading the book to your child, first, then read it together.   For the children who have no reading motivation, find reading materials that are interesting to THEM! 

ASK YOUR CHILD what he/she is interested in.  Don’t assume you know what they would like!  If they say they don’t know, keep the conversation going by eliciting ideas with questions like, “If you could do anything on earth, what would be the most fun?”  Don’t let them shrug it off and say, “I don’t know.”  Offer what your interests were when you were their age.   Discussions of this nature are best when they are done in a spot where the child is a captive audience, such as in the car.  Then, pursue their interest with a selection of books from the library.  Ask a librarian to recommend some books that are about your child’s interests.

Helpful websites:

Familyeducation.com (search: summer reading)

Scholastic.com (click, “Summer Reading Buzz”)