It's that time of year again. . .summer. . .when all we (parents AND kids) want to do is be free of homework and school and be outside and at the pool. But studies show that if your kids take the entire summer "off", they can suffer "summer slide" and fall behind for the upcoming school year.
One of the ways to combat summer slide, is a regular reading period. Just 20-30 minutes a day, can make the difference. Our school district sends home both reading and math summer work that is due the first week of school. Since reading is part of that, I thought, why not make it family reading time - you take a reading break and enjoy too.
That's our plan around here. With camp starting this week, they get a half hour of down-time/TV/snacks when they get home, then 30 minutes of reading. The rest of the afternoon and evening is theirs.
Check out your school, local library or even bookstores for reading programs. Many offer prizes as incentives for recorded reading.
Stumped on something for your 12-14 year old? Here are some book choices for your Middle School reader (6th - 8th grades):
"Escape! The Story of the Great Houdini" by Sid Fleischman
"Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer" Series by John Grisham
"The Outsiders" by S. E. Hinton
"Titanic: Voices From the Disaster" by Deborah Hopkinson
"Schooled" by Gordon Korman
"Wonder" by R. J. Palacio
"Virals" by Kathy Reichs
"Lost Hero" by Rick Riordan
"Say Goodnight Gracie" by Julie Deaver
What are you (and your kids) reading this summer?
catch you soon -
This post is linked up for Summer Family Fun.
We're reading We are not eaten by yaks and The Lightning thief!
ReplyDeleteThis is a really great list, Hillary! Ayva is obviously too young, but I'll check them out for myself!
ReplyDeleteMy son is just finishing up the Harry Potter series and we've been looking for something to replace it... thanks for these great suggestions!
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