I am thrilled to have Ginny Marie of Lemon Drop Pie guest posting today! She has some great ideas on how to keep your kids reading this summer!
School’s out for the summer! One of the first things we do every summer is sign up for our public library’s reading program. However, sometimes reading conflicts with what we really want to do. My daughters and I spend a lot of time at the pool and playing outside. Reading can fall by the wayside. Lily, who is eight years old, loves to listen to me reading books to her. Reading independently, however, has been a struggle for her. Here are some ways that worked to keep her reading during second grade. She came up with most of these ideas on her own, and then I encouraged her to keep reading!
1. Read to a pet or stuffed animal.
Lily loves reading to Stripe, her pet fish. She really thinks that he listens to her read, and who am I to argue with that? Emmy, my five year old, was caught reading to her teddy bear the other day. She just finished Kindergarten, and all of a sudden she is becoming an independent reader, too!
2. Find a quiet reading nook.
Lily and Emmy have a small play tent that I will bring out for fun every once in a while. With some pillows and blankets, this little indoor tent makes a perfect reading nook. This summer, we’re going to set it out in the backyard for an outdoor reading spot. Emmy also creates her own little reading spot in her bedroom. She will put her child-sized rocking chair in the little nook between her dresser and bookshelf and camp out there to read.
3. Become a reporter for your local newspaper.
The joy of writing also encourages reading. Lily often grabs a notebook to report the latest news in our neighborhood, such as a water main break. Of course, every day happenings are not always that exciting, but Lily has included our daily adventures such as trips to the park in her one-copy-only newspaper. She also knows that I am a writer, and has even written a guest post on my blog.
4. Have some DEAR time.
I encourage Lily to sit with me on the couch to read her book while I’m reading mine. So far, this has been a challenge because Emmy hasn’t been an independent reader for very long and doesn’t know what to do with herself while we read. We’ll keep working on this one. (You may recognize the D.E.A.R. acronym: Drop Everything and Read.)
5. Don’t let the enjoyment of reading end when the book is over.
Lily LOVES to talk about her favorite books, even when she’s done reading them. Her favorite characters in books become friends, and she talks about them as if she really knows them. After reading The Mysterious Benedict Society with her dad, she talked about Kate and her red bucket for days. You can help your child extend the book by having them draw a picture of their favorite part or write interview questions for one of their favorite characters. Lily has also written a quiz on Goodreads for one of the Magic Tree House books that she loves. (I checked her questions and answers before I published her quiz on Goodreads.) After reading a retelling of The Gingerbread Man, Lily and Emmy held a mock trial to decide if the fox was guilty or innocent after he ate the Gingerbread Man. My husband and I were the jury. Extending the book in these ways help enrich the reading experience for your child.
Most of all, if your child sees you reading, whether it’s a novel or your favorite magazine, you are sending a message that reading is fun! Enjoy your summer reading!
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Ginny Marie loves sticking her nose in a book, and has often forgotten to start making dinner because she can’t put her book down. She taught second grade for thirteen years and now she reads books to her preschool students. She blogs at Lemon Drop Pie, and you can also follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
Ginny Marie says
Thank you for having me as a guest on your blog, One Mommy! I hope my tips are helpful to other moms! Have a great week. 🙂
OneMommy says
Thank you again for guest posting! 🙂
Jenn says
Great tips, Ginny! I used to LOVE reading alone someplace quiet…that was hard to come by growing up with a sister only a year younger than you with a short attention span! I’m not sure if Adaline will be an independent reader or not. She’s only 3.5yo but when I’m busy and can’t read to her, she’ll sit on the floor and make up new stories to the book. I think her stories are usually better than the original 🙂
OneMommy says
I agree! I love the creativity mine put into the stories when they “read” them!
Ginny Marie says
That’s awesome, Jenn! When Adeline is “reading” the story she’s using a great pre-reading skill! I bet she’ll be an amazing reader when she’s older.
Tamara says
Great tips! My daughter loves to “read” to her stuffed animals and her baby brother. She’s only three so she’s not reading much on her own but she likes to make up stories at this point, which I love.
OneMommy says
Isn’t it fun watching them “read” to their younger sibs?!
Donna DM Yates says
My son just didn’t want to learn to read. it was solved in one afternoon when I had him read to the dogs who just laid there so good.
Great ideas.
OneMommy says
We have dogs that come to the library for that reason. I hope to take my daughter to read to them when she starts reading.
Chris Carter says
Those are great ideas!! I love that DEAR! Gonna practice that stat!
Sharon @ Life After Empty Nest says
I LOVE this! As a Elementary Reading Teacher, I am extremely grateful to parents who keep their babies reading through the summer! Studies show children lose so much of what they learned during the school year if they don’t “summer read”!
Thank you for posting this and for linking up at our “Summer Bucket List” Link Party.
Keep those ideas coming…we’ll be partying through June!
OneMommy says
Oh, I can’t imagine having never read to my kids…. I hope they want me to read to them for years and years!
Carrie says
What wonderful ideas!! Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!