This is a quick excerpt from an article in the Washington Post, written by Karen MacPherson, the children’s and teen services coordinator for the Takoma Park, Md., library.
Yes, parents, there is a magic formula to keep your kids reading through the summer
“Yes, parents, there really is a magic formula to keep your kids reading through the summer and beyond. The secret ingredient? You.
Research shows that reading during the summer helps kids minimize the “summer slide,” the drop-off in reading skills that non-summer readers experience at the start of a new school year. Troublingly, the recent “Kids and Family Reading Report,” a biennial survey done by Scholastic, a publishing and media company, showed that among kids ages 9-11, 14 percent read no books during the summer of 2018, compared with 7 percent in 2016. Among kids ages 15-17, 32 percent read no books last summer, compared with 22 percent in 2016.
But summer reading need not be a hard sell to kids. That same survey found that nearly 60 percent of kids ages 6-17 agreed with the statement: “I really enjoy reading books over the summer.”
You can help them find that joy. In the midst of the craziness of daily life — and the distractions of screens and so much else — it’s a challenge for parents to make reading a pleasurable priority in their family’s life. But summertime actually is a perfect — and crucial — time to experiment with some of the following strategies, recommended by children’s librarians and reading experts.”
- Let kids choose their own books
- Expand the definition of reading
- Make reading a family priority — for everyone
- Make reading social
- Make it a game
Click on the link to get all the info!