Avoiding the Summer Slide

Summer is here! How to keep your kids reading skills up!

*Six books to summer success: Research has shown that reading only 6 books over the summer months can prevent a child from slipping in their reading levels. Choose books that are not too hard, and not too easy, but interesting to your individual child.

"All readers are good readers, when they have the right book." — Jeanne Henry

Do your kids have the right book?

*Read something every day: Encourage your child to spend some time reading each day. There are opportunities all around us. Create baskets of books in your home and for your family. Have a basket in the kitchen, in the bedroom, in the car, and even in the bathroom. If there is books available, they will pick them up!

*Keep reading aloud: There is nothing more beneficial than reading aloud to your children. Reading aloud can benefit children of any age, especially if they are struggling. Fill their "reservoir" with new words, and expressions that will help build their listening and comprehension skills. If your child has been read the words before, when they read them on their own they will understand them much more quickly.


"It's not the toys in the house that make the difference in children's lives; it's the words in their heads. The least expensive thing we can give a child outside of a hug turns out to be the most valuable: words." From Chapter One: Why read aloud? The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease


HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!