Reading over the summer not only encourages children to put down the video games and step away from the television, it’s necessary to prevent a learning lapse between grade levels over the summer. Just like using flashcards to keep up with math from year to year, having your children read will expand their vocabulary, increase their creativity and help them not lose touch with everything they learned in the previous grade level.It can be frustrating for some parents to get their children to read. Maybe your child is picky about what books they enjoy, or they lose interest easily. Summer Reading Programs, often sponsored by local libraries, are a great way to reward your child for reading. Going to the library is a great way to spend a rainy summer afternoon. Your kids can look through shelves of books, find new genres or authors they enjoy and spend time reading in children’s reading nooks. This also allows you some quiet time to read for yourself. Never a bad thing!
Here are some great resources for national and local programs:
- Scholastic Summer Reading Program: Keep kids reading all summer long!
- Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program: Read more and earn free books!
- Summer Reading at New York Libraries: You may not live in New York, but this offers great ideas for your local branch if you don’t have a program already in place.
- How to Find Summer Reading Programs in Your Area
- Scholastic: 10 non-book ways to get your kids to read.
- Family Education: Top ways to get your kids to read.