Literacy in the LibraryTOOLS FOR INSPIRING YOUNG PEOPLE TO BECOME LIFELONG READERS AND LEARNERS |
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Get Ready for the Summer!May/June 2008“I’m bored!” “There’s nothing to do!” Do you dread the coming of your children’s summer vacation? Do the summer days drag on and on because your kids are always underfoot, wanting you to entertain them? Here is one solution to summer boredom. Sign your children up for the summer reading program at your local public library! Reading can entertain your children during the hot summer days as well as help your children stay prepared to enter school the next fall. Children can lose ground with their reading abilities if they don’t practice reading during the summer. When they arrive back at school in the fall, they are less prepared for the work that they need to do in the next grade. Research shows (PDF) that children who participate in library summer reading programs are more likely to maintain or in some cases increase their reading ability. Summer reading programs encourage children to read for a significant amount of time. It is with this reading practice that children use the skills that they developed during the previous school year. Children participating in library programs read more and need to spend less time in the fall relearning skills that they lost during the summer. Public libraries help parents encourage more reading with special literacy based activities and programs, storytimes, and incentives for reading a certain number of books or for a certain number of hours. Many library summer reading programs are structured so that parents can read with younger children while older children can read on their own. During the summer months, many libraries have book clubs, special performers, or arts and crafts which are all designed to bring books and reading into the hands and minds of children. One of the best ways to encourage reading during the summer is to read about something that your children like. Does your son like whales? Rocks and minerals? Or, kites? Does your daughter like fairies? Prairie dogs? Or, hip hop music? Talk to your children about what interests them and read a fiction or a non-fiction book about that topic. They will want to read more if they are interested in what they are reading. Going on a road trip this summer? You can read books about your destination before or during the trip. If you are taking a trip to South Dakota to see the Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse Monuments for example, you can read about the making of the monuments or about George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Crazy Horse; or, you can read about cartooning and amusement parks if you are going to visit Disneyland. Incorporating reading into your family vacations can add to the experience by providing fun information and historical facts while maintaining your children’s reading skills. So before the whining and complaining about being bored starts this summer, check out what the public library offers with its summer reading program. Take advantage of the prizes that are given to encourage reading. Have your children participate in the literacy linked events that are provided. Help your children maintain their reading skills while enjoying themselves this summer. By Heidi Becker, Educational Programming Assistant, Westwood Library Branch, The Denver Public Library |
Related LinksSummer of Reading Benefits (PDF) Babble, Scribble, READ! BookBuzz Newsletters and RSS Subscribe to DPL Newsletters in your RSS Reader.
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