During the summer, Loren and Tammy, two ESAConnection team members and seasoned educators, will be posting about learnings ideas (one a week) to keep learner’s brains active over the two month summer break. Here is the first idea in the series.

Our first summer learning idea is to read! No surprise here! Without a doubt, reading is the MOST important academic skill (insert 1 million research based facts about how reading is key to all the other academics, #1 predictor of academic success, etc.).

The question isn’t how essential reading is to a learner’s academic success, but how to get kids to read over the summer! They have read all school year; they are tired of reading and you are tired of battling them to read! However, this is a must do! So we (Loren and Tammy) put our experienced educator heads together and came up with some ideas to help get your kids reading without the battle.

ENROLL IN MARICOPA SUMMER READING PROGRAM

Without a doubt, your library is the best summer reading source. Maricopa County has numerous reading incentives to hand out for readers. Best part…it’s free! Enroll your reader today to start receiving rewards. Here is the link to get started and check out their incentives: https://maricopacountyreads.org/

READ ALOUD 

Even if your child is a reader, reading aloud is incredibly important. Yes, this counts for reading if you are reading to your child. Didn’t finish any curriculum novels over the summer? These are perfect to pick up and read aloud with the kids over the summer. Win, win! Check out https://www.instagram.com/readaloudrevival/ for ideas, book lists, and the importance of reading aloud.

PAY TO READ

This is how I earned money growing up over the summer. My mom would pay us $1 for every non-fiction book we read plus we had to write a summary! So clever, and I earned lots of money back then. Now, I know what you are thinking….pay my child to read? They are going to want extra money for summer activities. Tell me a better way for them to earn money for summer activities than having them read! It is a win win…they read and get money for all the extra things they have been begging you to do over the summer. Having some sort of incentive program, whether it includes money or not, helps to motivate your learner to pick up a book and read.

VACATION PREP

Make it your child’s job to sort out activities to do in the city you are traveling to over the summer. Find non-fiction books on the area you are visiting to learn the facts and history of that area/state. While traveling, gather brochures at hotels and visitor centers for your child to read to the family while in the car traveling.

READ THE BOOK, WATCH THE MOVIE!

Yes, we know reading is amazing, but kids loves movies even more. Selecting books that also have a movie will be a huge incentive for them to get extra screen time in! However, skip “The Bridge to Terabithia” ….I have no idea how anyone can watch that movie; I bawled for days just reading the book!

Put your strategy to get your kids reading over the summer below and any high engaging book recommendations in the comments below to help other parents come up with engaging and fun ideas! Let’ s get reading to keep those brains active.

-Tammy Johnson ESAConnection