Books are cool on hot days
As parents prepare to roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer, many are hoping to find ways to make them a little less lazy.
About this time every year, parents and educators devise strategies for keeping reading levels high for good readers and improving levels for remedial readers. Reading is in many ways an ideal activity for summer, when kids have more uninterrupted free time and the heat keeps them inside.
Some creative tactics for keeping kids’ minds and reading skills sharp during summer:
• Be cool: Hang out at the library. It’s air-conditioned, kid-friendly and packed with books on every conceivable subject, and most libraries offer summer programs aimed at children of all ages.
• Give your child a book allowance/budget — perhaps in the form of a bookstore gift card. As he finishes a batch, take him to the store to replenish his supply.
• Give kids as much leeway as possible in making their own choices about what to read. They’ll be more enthusiastic about reading books they’ve chosen.
• Place books around the house where kids are likely to welcome a relaxing diversion.
• Introduce kids to many kinds of books, including biographies, mysteries, fantasies, literary novels and poetry.
• Some readers may find age-appropriate comic books and graphic novels especially engaging.
• Encourage kids to view a variety of materials as “reading,” including magazines, newspapers and reference books.
• Challenge older children to undertake a special summer-long research project (low intensity, long duration, no pressure) such as a family genealogy or the history of the Barbie doll.
• Pack a “booknic.” Add some books to a picnic lunch. Reading outdoors is a great way to spend an afternoon.
• Form a kids’ book club. Encourage your kids to meet with friends over ice cream to talk about what they’ve all read.
• Form a “movie and book” club. Encourage kids to read books that have been made into movies. When they’ve finished the books, rent the movies and talk about the differences and similarities and which they liked better and why. Examples include “Holes,” “Because of Winn-Dixie,” “The Chronicles of Narnia,” “Hoot,” the “Princess Diaries” series and, of course, the “Harry Potter” series.
• Make it a contest. Let siblings, cousins or friends challenge one another to see who can read the most books over the summer. Variations on this theme might include who can read the most or who can be the first to finish a specific series.
• Put on a show. Help your kids and friends stage a play based on a book they read together
• Make reading a part of the family vacation. Kids can read travel brochures about vacation destinations before you go and listen to books on tape on the way there. Find a book in the gift shop that reinforces what you’ve seen at a destination. Or plan a vacation to a city, state or country featured in a favorite story.
Sources: Scholastic and Woman’s Day