reading!
1. Visit the Library. Sign up for the summer reading programs. There's a program for kids, for teens and for adults too.
2. Lead by example. Read the newspaper at breakfast, pick up a magazine at the doctor's office and stuff a paperback in your beach bag. If kids see the adults around them reading often, they will understand that literature can be a fun and important part of their summer days.
3. Talk it up. Talking with your kids about what you have read also lets them know that reading is an important part of your life. Tell them why you liked a book, what you learned from it, or how it helped you - soon they might start doing the same.
4. Help kids find time to read. Summer camp, music lessons, baseball games and video games are all fun things kids like to do during the summer. By the end of the day, however, children may be too tired to pick up a book. When planning summer activities with children, remember to leave some time in their schedules for reading. Some convenient times may be before bedtime or over breakfast.
5. Relax the rules for the summer. During the school year, children have busy schedules and often have required reading for classes. Summer is a time when children can read what, when and how they please. Don't set daily minute requirements or determine the number of pages they should read. Instead, make sure they pick up books for fun and help find ways for them to choose to read on their own. You may even want to make bedtime a little bit later if you find that your child can't put down a book! A good book is a book that your child wants to read.
6. Have plenty of reading material around. Books aren't the only things that kids can read for fun. Be sure to have newspapers, magazines and informational material on hand that might spark the interest of a young reader.
7. Read everything! Books, magazines, newspapers, billboards, road signs, cereal boxes, food labels, instructions for games.... Reading material is everywhere! Kids who read, succeed.
8. Use books to break the boredom. Without a regular school regimen, adults and kids need more activities to fill the hours. Books that teach kids how to make or do something are a great way to get kids reading and keep them occupied. Don't forget to take your kids' favorite books along on long road trips.
9. Read aloud with kids. Take your kids to see a local storyteller or become one yourself. The summer months leave extra time for enthusiastic read-alouds with children, no matter what their ages. Try improvising different voices or wear a silly hat to make the story that much more interesting. Library staff will have lots of ideas of good books to read aloud with your kids.
reading!
Adapted from Reading is Fundamental, Inc. (RIF) 2010