Reading During Summer Break

School’s Out For the Summer!!! It’s a proven fact that kids that read over the summer retain more knowledge from the past school year allowing them to be better prepared to start the next school year. But parents sometimes have a difficult time getting their kids to read. Here are a few simple tips on how to get your children excited about summer reading.

• Provide them as much incentive as possible to read. Some stores like Pottery Barn Kids and Barnes & Noble offer rewards for summer readers.

• Read together – to make things more interesting try playing out the characters. Use funny voices, be animated and try to make the story come to life. Have your child do the same while reading to you. 

• Keep it fun - don’t correct your child for every mistake they make while reading. Instead give them lots of positive encouragement just for reading during the summer. 

• Make going to the library a summer event. Let your child search through and pick out the books that interest them and that they want to read. The library often has summer activities that can help reinforce that libraries and reading can be fun.

• Many children get hooked on reading through reading a series of books. Think of all of the kids who have become great readers through Harry Potter and other series books. If your child gets intrigued by certain characters, they may get hooked on the next book in the series and become a reader for life.

Enjoy your summer reading!