Kids put in a lot of hard work to build up their reading skills over the school year, and summer reading is essential to keeping up those skills. Here are some tips to keep kids reading over the summer.
Keep Books Around the House
One of the biggest factors in keeping up reading skills is simply having access to reading materials. Whether you have books of your own or regularly visit the library to keep stocked up, having books at home gives your kids more opportunities to read. Consider having some books around that are easy to browse, like joke books, nonfiction and magazines.
Let Kids Choose
Letting kids choose what they want to read is one of the best ways to foster a love of reading. Help them find books that relate to their interests, and encourage reading in all kinds of formats, including nonfiction, magazines, graphic novels and audiobooks. If you need ideas for what to read next, check out our booklists for young children and for school age kids.
Don’t worry if your kids are picking books a little below or above their reading level. Kids can develop reading fluency by reading books below their level. If a book really interests them, they may make an extra effort to read something a little harder. Harder books are also a great opportunity to read together.
Read Aloud Together
Kids are never too old to benefit from being read to. Listening to a book helps to develop essential comprehension skills, and spending quality time as a family gives kids positive associations with reading. Involvement from the adults in their lives is important to kids’ learning, so read together, talk to your kids about what they’re reading, and let them see you reading.
Make It Routine
Making a habit of reading a little every day is great for maintaining reading skills, so make reading time a part of your daily routine. Participating in programs like the library’s summer reading games can also help make reading a daily habit.
Learn More
- Summer Reading Loss (Reading Rockets)
- Kids & Family Reading Report (Scholastic)
- Summer Reading Programs Boost Student Achievement, Study Says (School Library Journal)
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