School is out, the weather is nice; summer is finally here! Summer vacation gives children a much needed break from school, however, students should not be taking a break completely. What do we mean? While students should be enjoying their time off, they should also still continue to be educational; and you can make this happen in many different ways!
One of the easiest ways for children to stay educated during the summer is by reading. Reading brings a variety of benefits to every student, no matter the age. Reading helps keep children engaged during the summer, which is very important and beneficial once the school year resumes in the fall. Here is why summer reading is important, and how you can implement this at home as a parent.
Benefits of reading during the summer
Summer reading may not be what every kid wants to do, however, there are many benefits that will help play a role in the success of your student.
Helps retain knowledge and skills
When children read during the summer, they are more likely to retain the knowledge and skills they have learned from the previous school year. They are also more likely to grow their knowledge and critical thinking skills for the upcoming school year. This is critical for every student and will help them become ready for when school resumes in the fall, making the transition from summer to school much easier.
Good exercise for the brain
In life, when you do not exercise for a period of time, you lose muscle gains and the conditioning in which you once had. The same goes for your brain. Summer reading will help kids exercise their brains and keep them engaged academically. A University of Tennessee-Knoxville research study found that children who don’t read during the summer lose at least two months of reading development. On the flip side, students who continue reading during the summer months enhance their reading skills. This is another reason why all students should continue to read during the summer break.
How you can implement reading at home
Every parent should strive to encourage their children to read throughout the summer months. Here are some great ways that are easy and fun!
Create a summer reading challenge
Every child loves a friendly challenge. Coming up with some sort of reading competition or challenge at home is one way to help get your children to stay engaged. You can start by setting goals such as: reading x amount of books by the end of the summer, reading x amount of pages per day, or reading x amount of chapters per week. When challenging your children to read during the summer, a good way to help them follow through on this is by letting them explain to you what they had read, and rewarding them in some way. If you have more than one child, consider having them compete against each other to see who can read the most during the summer!
Read with your younger children
If you have young children who have not yet developed proficient reading skills, you should try to take time out of your day to sit down and read with/to them. Establishing reading habits at a young age will enhance any child's reading and comprehension skills significantly.
Lastly, a big question that parents may ask is what books are appropriate for what age? Certainly, a second grader and eighth grader should not be reading the same books. Here is a great list of summer books for your children to read this summer!
While our Summer Program will not happen this year, we are still trying to engage with our students in every possible way we can. Contact us with any questions you may have.
