5 Summer Reading Tips to Avoid Summer Setback

According to the National Education Association, “Summer sizzles when you add the excitement of a good book! But if kids take a vacation from reading, skills may fizzle over the break.”

“Summer setback” happens when a child loses comprehension skills over summer vacation due to an extended period without reading.  As parents, it’s important to prevent summer setback by encouraging children to read so that they are prepared for the upcoming school year.

If you’ve been wondering how to get your child to read this summer, then you’ve come to the right place. We know how important it is to keep your child reading, especially during the summer months when school is out of session. To keep your child learning through literature this summer, we’ve come up with a few tricks and tips to help you out:

1. Let your child decide. When you go to a bookstore or library, let your child pick out the books that interest him. You want your child to fall in love with reading naturally. By giving him the freedom to choose his own books, you can encourage this process.
2. Make reading appealing. When your child is bored and looking for something to do, it’s important to fill this time with reading. You can do this by finding clever ways to leave your child alone with books. For instance, you can keep a basket of books in the places that you know your child is most likely to get bored, such as the bathroom or the backseat of your car.
3. Create a reading nook. You can create a small fort-like book nook and theme it with something that your child is really into, such as outer space, the beach, or a rainforest. This will not only bring out your child’s imagination when she is reading, but it also gives her a space that she can call her own. This will make reading a special activity for her.
4. Bring the books to life. Book-inspired activities can really extend the reading experience by bringing some of the elements of the book to life. You can find plenty of book-inspired activities online, and try them after your child’s reading time.
5. Start a club. Children will be more inclined to read if they have someone to do it with them. Have your child ask one of her friends to read a book with her. She can invite her friend into the super cool book nook where they can talk about the book together. You can bring a few discussion questions to get things started. A book club will not only improve your child’s comprehension skills through discussion but will also cultivate their love for reading by making it a more social experience.

When you find ways to bring reading into your child’s summer, you can help them avoid ‘summer setback’ and jump start into the new school year!

Reading at Prep Academy

At Prep Academy Schools, we include reading as one of the main elements of our curriculum. Our students learn new concepts about many topics through reading. They are encouraged to have discussions about these topics. Our educators also use individualized instruction to sharpen each child’s reading comprehension skills.