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Take Advantage of Summer for Reading By Melissa J Wantuck  |
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 Summer is in full swing and children are out of school. For kids, they’ve left behind the classroom and all things related to homework to enjoy free time dedicated to playing. For parents, this is an excellent time to encourage their child’s own independent reading habit.
The idea is to get your children to read without making it another form of homework. This will encourage children to want to read on their own, a life-long gift you can give your child that will foster knowledge growth and help lead to success in their adult years.
If you’re stumped on how to get started, begin by visiting your local library. For younger children, make the first step helping them get their first library card. Make this a special moment, like learning to ride a bike.
Going to your library won’t cost you a lot of money, if any at all. There you can take advantage of your library’s resources to show your children how their interests are represented there in the various books the library has. If your library participates in an interlibrary loan program, make a summer project of helping your child find a book that your library doesn’t have that can be requested through the interlibrary loan program. Hunting for a book can become a game for your children instead of being seen as work.
Many libraries offer summer reading programs at the library. Most summer reading programs are reading hour sessions. Take your children to these and after the reading hour, encourage them to look for a book of their own to take home that they can read at home during your own in-home reading hour. Have them invite friends and family members over to listen to their reading hour.
Ask your librarian about books written by local authors and subjects on local history. Read these books with your family and then visit the places the books talk about. This is a fun way to engage your children in learning history. The visual aspect of seeing the real places will enforce the value of reading and learning. Visiting local places won’t cost a lot of money and considering the high cost of fuel this summer, this will be an economical way to get out and do things with your family without spending much.
Many schools and teachers compile book lists for their students of required or suggested reading for the upcoming school year. Check out these lists to get an idea what is being read, see what your child has read and create your own reading list and encourage your children to read those books. Have them choose the books they want to read instead of assigning a specific one. Again, the idea is to encourage them to make independent reading choices and if they’re reading books most often used in the classroom setting, it will help them be more open to the kind of books they’re assigned to read when school is back in session.
Your local library may have a dedicated section for the school’s reading list. Find this section and encourage your child to look for books in it that interest them.
As a reward for your child’s reading interest, take them to the bookstore and let them choose a new book. Then encourage them to pick out books they’d like as gifts for a special occasion.
These are just a few suggestions to help get your child to read this summer and incorporate that into family activities. There are endless adventures out there in books just waiting for your child to find them and enjoy them. The carefree days of summer are the best time to do that.
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