I know this last school year has been A LOT for all of us, parents, teachers and kids alike. But, if we do nothing else this summer, daily reading needs to continue in order to improve and maintain academic skills over the summer.
The school year is coming to an end and what a crazy ride it has been. Go ahead, take a little time to relax and rejuvenate. You’ve earned it.
But don’t take too long of a break. If summer days are consistently lazy – a significant amount of what went into building your child’s brain during the school year will start to leak out. I have just the thing to prevent this loss.
Recently my daughter told me she caught herself falling asleep at the wheel. They have participated faithfully with daily reading since preschool but for some reason reading had fallen through the cracks of a busy fall start up.
We’re half way through summer (sad) and your kids have either been chipping away at that summer reading list or they’ve been engaged in less ‘academic’ pursuits and you’re feeling the need to get back at it. For most kids, a summer reading list or big stack of books can seem intimidating, even dry, especially for visual learners.
If you have a visual learner, a summer reading program may scare you and your child.
But reading is an essential skill and you’ll both have to bite the bullet and do it. Never fear – there’s a light at the end of the tunnel…. your local library. They know how to make reading fun for your child, so it’s easy on you.
Our local library, like so many others around the country, has a variety of special reading events throughout the summer to keep kids reading. This year our library’s summer theme, Paws to Read, is built around Clifford the Big Red Dog. In an effort to get kids into the library they have a variety of interactive exhibits, game days and special events all centered on Clifford.
To get kids to read and keep reading throughout the summer – there’s a Summer
Defeating the summer slide can be accomplished in a lot of different ways. One of my personal favorites is the summer reading program that is held annually at our local library, Gail Borden. 
Like most local libraries, the summertime offers a lot of opportunities to engage with kids from the community and build a love of learning (especially reading)!
