Tips for summer reading

Thomasville Elementary School principals and teachers would like to encourage all parents to help make reading fun and enjoyable for their children during the summer. Experts agree: children who read during the summer gain reading skills, while those who do not, often experience learning losses. Because of this, efforts should be made during the summer to help children sustain reading skills, practice reading and read for enjoyment. Remember that children need free time in the summer to relax and enjoy the pleasures of childhood, so summer reading should be fun. The following are a few tips to make reading enjoyable for your children this summer.

* Read aloud together with your child every day. Make it fun by reading outdoors on the front porch, patio, at the beach or park. Even the older students love to have someone read to them. Also, let your children read to you.

* Set a good example! Parents must be willing to model behavior for their children. Keep lots of reading materials around the house. Read the newspaper at breakfast, pick up a magazine at the doctor's office, and stuff a paperback in your beach bag. If kids see the adults around them reading, they will understand that literature can be fun and an important part of their life.

* Read the same book your child is reading and discuss it. This is the way to develop reading and thinking skills. It also gives parents and pre-teens/teens something in common. Share what you like or didn't like about the book. Find out their opinions about the book.

* Take your children to the library regularly. The Thomasville Public Library is increasing their book collection daily. If your child does not have a library card, summer is a great time to sign up.

* Subscribe, in your child's name, to magazines like Sports Illustrated for Kids, National Geographic World, and Time for Kids. Encourage older children to read the newspaper and current events magazines to keep up the reading habit over the summer and develop vocabulary. Ask them what they think about what they've read and listen to what they say.

* Relax the rules for the summer. During the school year, children have busy schedules and often have required reading for classes. Summer is a time when children can read what, when and how they please. Do not set daily minute requirements or determine the number of pages they have to read. Instead, make sure they pick up books for fun and help find ways for them to choose to read on their own. You may want to make bedtime a little bit later if you find that your child can't up down a book.

* Use books to bread the boredom. Without the regular school routine, adults and kids need more activities to fill the hours. Books that teach kids how to make or do something are a great way to get kids reading and keep them occupied.

Each grade level at TES was given a list of suggestions for summer reading. Students may ask to see these at the local library. TES encourages each child to enjoy their summer vacation, but read as much as possible to help maintain all those reading skills they have worked so hard to learn. Join the summer program at the Thomasville Public Library and enjoy reading !

http://www.thethomasvilletimes.com/news/2006/0608/School/088.html