Rockmybaby thinks summer’s lazy days are some of the best in life and having no day-to-day agenda is often a relief to busy parents. There is nothing like just be able to relax as the days go by, but many parents don’t realize the summer “brain drain,” can happen to children as young as pre-school.
Do you remember summer reading lists which came home in our backpacks because elementary school teachers did not want school age children’s brain’s to go on vacation? There are more new studies to suggest that even toddlers suffer from lack of reading over the summer holidays.
Reading with Children
Reading is a gift you give a child for life and instilling a love for reading, especially during summer when children typically have more time is so important. Here are some tips for keeping your young children reading all summer long!
- Read early and often. The early years are critical to developing a life long love of reading. It is never too early to start.
- Lead and read by example! Make sure your children, even toddlers see you reading a book and not being glued to your smart phone!
- Go to the library, it is free and can be a cool respite on a hot summer day!
- Make it a bonding time, when you can have a cuddle and remind your child how special this time is!
- Build your child’s vocabulary by reading more challenging books and making an effort to build those words into your conversations!
- Read with humour and expression!
- Talk about what is happening in the book, point out pictures, words and ask them questions.
- It is OK to read some books for the 100th time, but this can also limit children’s vocabulary development so make sure you “keep it fresh,” with new stories
- Do a book exchange with neighbors, family and friends!
- Mention how we read from left to right and words are separated with spaces and punctuation.
- Talk about words that you see in your environment
- Have FUN!
Happy Reading and Happy Summer!
Written by Ruth Maurandy
