Today is the first official day of summer vacation for me! Teachers were finishing up on Thursday and Friday, and the weekend doesn't count since we wouldn't be at school anyway. So I am celebrating today, since it is Tuesday and I am NOT on I-85 driving to school!
I love summer. I love the freedom of doing anything we would like to do, or the freedom to do nothing at all! I love the time to work on projects at home. I love the chance we have to travel and see family. Summer is all about fun and freedom!
When it comes to reading this summer, keep that in mind- fun and freedom! I have a lot of parents asking about leveled books for their child. While it is great to have your child practice reading over the summer on his or her level, remember that to encourage a child to LOVE reading, it has to be fun! Reading should be a form of entertainment this summer- not work.
My kids love going to the library in the summer. Not only are there fabulous (FREE!) programs, but it's the one place they rarely hear the word, "no." Within reason, they are allowed to check out as many books they want, any books they want. Though my daughter is a very fluent reader, if she wants all graphic novels, I don't worry. My first grader tends to go for books that are above his reading level, but are about subjects in which he is very interested. We just read them together. Eventually, it evens out, and they choose some on their level, some above, and some below. The most important thing is that there is no stress- I just keep encouraging them to choose books they are interested in, books they like,books that look good to them.
We also try to keep reading time natural and no stress. We don't set a time to read, but we do make sure books are always around. We take lots of road trips during the summer, and in the car, my kids pack up books to read. When we head to the pool, they each bring a book. At those lovely dentist and doctor appointments, they bring a book to read. They also see me carrying a book everywhere, too!
So enjoy the fun and freedom of summer, and keep encouraging your children to read by making it fun!
Here's a few of the books being read at our house this summer:
I love summer. I love the freedom of doing anything we would like to do, or the freedom to do nothing at all! I love the time to work on projects at home. I love the chance we have to travel and see family. Summer is all about fun and freedom!
When it comes to reading this summer, keep that in mind- fun and freedom! I have a lot of parents asking about leveled books for their child. While it is great to have your child practice reading over the summer on his or her level, remember that to encourage a child to LOVE reading, it has to be fun! Reading should be a form of entertainment this summer- not work.
My kids love going to the library in the summer. Not only are there fabulous (FREE!) programs, but it's the one place they rarely hear the word, "no." Within reason, they are allowed to check out as many books they want, any books they want. Though my daughter is a very fluent reader, if she wants all graphic novels, I don't worry. My first grader tends to go for books that are above his reading level, but are about subjects in which he is very interested. We just read them together. Eventually, it evens out, and they choose some on their level, some above, and some below. The most important thing is that there is no stress- I just keep encouraging them to choose books they are interested in, books they like,books that look good to them.
We also try to keep reading time natural and no stress. We don't set a time to read, but we do make sure books are always around. We take lots of road trips during the summer, and in the car, my kids pack up books to read. When we head to the pool, they each bring a book. At those lovely dentist and doctor appointments, they bring a book to read. They also see me carrying a book everywhere, too!
So enjoy the fun and freedom of summer, and keep encouraging your children to read by making it fun!
Here's a few of the books being read at our house this summer: