Summer is the best time of year for so many. There's trips to the beach, days at the pool, day camp, sleep away camp for some lucky kiddos, ice cream dates, BBQs and just playing outside for endless hours. While I fully endorse all this play and fun in the sun, it is also so important make sure your child is reading daily (or at least 6 days a week). Studies have proven that children can fall up 2 levels below where they were when the school year ended in June by the time they return in September. Read this article to learn more about that here.
Why is this? Well there are a variety of reasons why children summer from summer brain or summer drain. One is that they're not immersed in reading and a rich literacy environment as they are during the school year. Another reason is they merely do not have access to books. Many teachers, such as myself, will have a library of books that range from many levels. Since I taught 1st grade my library ranges from B (which is middle of kindergarten) all they way through N (which is early 3rd grade). My students therefore have so many choices to choose from during reading time. In the summer, children don't always have a way to get to the library, local book store and some don't have the means to buy books. Another reason why so many kids fall behind is because they're the time that they aren't outside playing on the a device or watching TV. All of these affect summer brain drain.
Now that we know why it happens, we need to come up with a solution to stop it from happening.
1 - Kids love iPads! As a parent you can download short stories and have your child read it to you. There are many wonderful websites.
Here are my favorites. Read Works (this one is free) Raz Kids (this you need to pay for, but many schools pay a subscription and have student IDs. It is also something that might be worth it to do. Plus, they offer a 14 day free trial .
2. - Library visits! Go to your local library and have your child select lots of books. If you have trouble getting to the library often, set aside a time to go once and take out as many books as you can. Tell your child they can re-read the same book.
3- If you can afford it, take your child to a tutor. Good tutors will have a lot of materials to help your child succeed.
4- Make reading fun! Have your child read to you and then talk about the book. Make into a book club. You can even invite other parents and kids in the neighborhood to join. Select a book or a few books to read, pick a date they need to be done by and then have a get together where the kids can come dressed as their favorite character, talk about the book and eat some fun summer snacks!
5- Set a time. Be strict. It's important to set aside time to read. It we're not strict with ourselves it won't get done. I suggest to do a minimum of 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening for kids entering 2nd - 4th grade. Then add an addition 5-10 minutes to kids entering 5th-8th grade. Once they're in HS, they most likely will already have a required reading list.
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