by Jan Pierce, M.Ed
Summer has arrived and you’re doing all the right things. You’ve taken a break from the tight schedule of the school year, you’re planning lots of fun adventures for the summer months and… you’ve decided to support your kids’ hard-won reading skills by doing a summer reading challenge.
Maybe you’ve signed up for the local library’s summer reading program or the book store’s incentive program. You attend story hours here and there—and you’ve done the most important thing of all—you’ve inspired your kids to be part of the project.
The school year with all its expectations may have worn your kids down a bit. They don’t really want their summer vacation freedom to be bogged down by lots of rules and routines. Who would? So here’s the plan:
• Schedule a family meeting to plan your summer reading program.
• Call it an adventure, a club, a challenge, anything but a daily reading assignment
• With a bit of discussion, set goals for number of books read, pages read, or other reading-related accomplishments.
• Find a way to record progress, remembering that each child may have unique goals.
• Brainstorm weekly incentives to keep the program motivating. Stickers or small toys for young children, ice cream or other edible treats. Shopping trips to a favorite store. A family activity such as a bike ride together.
• Plan something big as the culminating event. At the end of the summer or maybe after six weeks of faithful daily reading, plan something really special. It may be a family camping trip, a long-awaited toy or game, or… (and here’s the key) something that your children are totally enthusiastic about. It’s all about you respecting your child’s choice.
Trust me, your little readers will hop to the books if they’re given choice in both goal-setting and in the rewards they’ll receive for a job well done. The rewards don’t have to be expensive either. In many cases you’ll find that your kids look forward to time spent together playing a game, going for a hike, or spending an evening fishing on the lake.
It’s super important for children to read over the summer months to maintain skills. Even good readers will lose skills and comprehension when they skip reading for a period of time. And for those who have worked extra hard to gain and maintain skills, they can suffer a disheartening setback if they don’t read for even a few weeks.
Your enthusiasm about summer reading will be contagious. Make that family meeting a success by all the positive energy you bring to the goal-setting and incentive planning. Give your kids the power of choice over the types of books read, the number of books, and the rewards they’ll achieve. The entire family will enjoy the summer reading challenge.
Jan Pierce, M.Ed., is a retired teacher and author of Homegrown Readers: Simple Ways to Help Your Child Learn to Read. Find Jan at www.janpierce.net.
Summer has arrived and you’re doing all the right things. You’ve taken a break from the tight schedule of the school year, you’re planning lots of fun adventures for the summer months and… you’ve decided to support your kids’ hard-won reading skills by doing a summer reading challenge.
Maybe you’ve signed up for the local library’s summer reading program or the book store’s incentive program. You attend story hours here and there—and you’ve done the most important thing of all—you’ve inspired your kids to be part of the project.
The school year with all its expectations may have worn your kids down a bit. They don’t really want their summer vacation freedom to be bogged down by lots of rules and routines. Who would? So here’s the plan:
• Schedule a family meeting to plan your summer reading program.
• Call it an adventure, a club, a challenge, anything but a daily reading assignment
• With a bit of discussion, set goals for number of books read, pages read, or other reading-related accomplishments.
• Find a way to record progress, remembering that each child may have unique goals.
• Brainstorm weekly incentives to keep the program motivating. Stickers or small toys for young children, ice cream or other edible treats. Shopping trips to a favorite store. A family activity such as a bike ride together.
• Plan something big as the culminating event. At the end of the summer or maybe after six weeks of faithful daily reading, plan something really special. It may be a family camping trip, a long-awaited toy or game, or… (and here’s the key) something that your children are totally enthusiastic about. It’s all about you respecting your child’s choice.
Trust me, your little readers will hop to the books if they’re given choice in both goal-setting and in the rewards they’ll receive for a job well done. The rewards don’t have to be expensive either. In many cases you’ll find that your kids look forward to time spent together playing a game, going for a hike, or spending an evening fishing on the lake.
It’s super important for children to read over the summer months to maintain skills. Even good readers will lose skills and comprehension when they skip reading for a period of time. And for those who have worked extra hard to gain and maintain skills, they can suffer a disheartening setback if they don’t read for even a few weeks.
Your enthusiasm about summer reading will be contagious. Make that family meeting a success by all the positive energy you bring to the goal-setting and incentive planning. Give your kids the power of choice over the types of books read, the number of books, and the rewards they’ll achieve. The entire family will enjoy the summer reading challenge.
Jan Pierce, M.Ed., is a retired teacher and author of Homegrown Readers: Simple Ways to Help Your Child Learn to Read. Find Jan at www.janpierce.net.
