5 Ways to Encourage Summer Reading

Summer may be ending within a month, but that’s a valuable month your kids could be using to read during. If you’re a parent and you find you are having a hard time getting your child to read, you’re not alone. A recent report shows that the amount of children who are frequent readers has declined. A lot of this has to do with the digital world we now live in. Kids are surrounded by screens of all sorts, whether these are phones, video games, computers, or tablets. While there is nothing wrong with kids consuming social media and playing video games, these activities build fewer skills than reading does.

But how do you encourage your reluctant child to pick up a book during the summer? We have the answer!

1.      Introduce them to summer reading programs. They may be starting late, but they still have a whole month to participate. It is likely your local library has some sort of summer reading program going on. It could involve reading for prizes, different reading challenges, story events, and more. A summer reading program is a great way to get kids more interested in reading.

2.      Encourage kids to pick out what types of books they want to read. Don’t push them to stick to a summer reading list. Your kid is much more likely to read voluntarily if they are allowed to pick out the books they want. Take them to the library and let them go wild. Drive them to the bookstore and let them find a book or two they’d like to take home. Giving your kid the freedom to find their own reading materials will make reading feel less like an assignment.

3.      Keep reading materials around your house. This includes more than just novels. Have magazines accessible. Newspapers. Vacation guides. When we think or reading we think of books, but that’s not the only medium out there. Show your kids how much reading there is to be done just by having these materials around your home.

4.      Connect with your kids, and allow kids to connect with others, through books. One great way to do this is to read the same books your kid reads so you can talk about it, or simply let them tell you all about the story. There are book discussion groups just for kids as well. You can also encourage your kids to share their favorite books with friends to encourage connection. When kids have someone to talk about reading with, they are more likely to enjoy it.

5.      Be a positive role model by reading yourself. You can’t tell your kids to read if you never spend any time reading yourself. And no, don’t just read newspapers in the morning. Read novels after dinner. Take a book with you to the beach. Browse a magazine in your downtime. If kids see you reading, they are more likely to model your behavior. 

An Educational Summer

The school year is coming to an end soon, meaning your students will have much more free time on their hands. All of us remember the joys and freedom of summer vacation, but one of the pitfalls is that it allows students to be lazy and disengage their mind.

As an educator, there is nothing you can do about this. What you can do is offer up some potential activities your students may engage in over their summer vacations that will keep them thinking. You may even choose to send this list on to your students for next year. You could offer an incentive for students that choose to participate.

1.      Get your students reading over the summer. While many students may dislike reading while in

school, summer opens up tons of new opportunities. First off, they will be able to choose any book they want, versus books they are assigned. They have entire libraries and book stores to explore at their leisure. Speaking of leisure, they have plenty of time over the summer to read at their own pace. Take some time to explain different genres of books and graphic novels to students and they may be encouraged to branch out and get reading.

2.      Encourage students to volunteer. The earlier a child starts volunteering, the more likely they are to give back to their community in the future. Volunteers must meet specific requirements, but there are tons of opportunities for them. Some examples include: planting flowers in parks, visiting a nursing home, sorting food at food pantries, and helping out at an animal shelter.

3.      Tell students about some of your hobbies, and encourage them to pick up a new one themselves. A new hobby will require students to use their brains to learn, follow instructions, and more. Some hobbies that are great for kids include cooking, learning a musical instrument, drawing, and crafting.

4.      Speaking of hobbies, encourage student writing. This can be a journal, a short story…anything that gets students writing. Put together a list of writing prompts that students can take home with them at the end of the year.

    5.      Give students some options for summer fun that are in your local area. Promote museums, which are a family favorite activity and educational. Maybe try talking up the zoo, instructing students to actually take some time to read about the animals. There’s tons of fun activities students can partake in that are also educational.

    6.      Make a calendar of educational events happening in the community to give to students. These can include day camps, events at parks, exhibits, concerts, and more. It’s an easy, visual way to catch student’s and parent’s attention.

Summer vacation is a great time for your students to relax after a long school year. But it is also a time for them to continue to use their minds and develop. Do what you can to encourage this before they leave your classroom!

Creative Summer Activities

We’re right in the middle of summer, and some kids might be getting a bit bored. Or are you just looking for something more creative to do that your kids will be talking about for ages? We’ve compiled a list of ten creative activities you can do this summer that kids will love.  

1.       Put some time and energy into creating a box house with your kids. You can make all different sizes, and this house can be as easy or complex as you want. For the youngest kids, all you need is a large appliance box and a box cutter to make some windows and a door. If you want something bigger, you can make the frame and roof of the house with multiple boxes. Kids can help make it too! Let them draw where they want windows and doors, color on details such as window sills and curtains, and more!

2.       Be prepared for summer storms with a rainy day box. It’s really simple! Just fill a box with indoor things for rainy days. This way kids won’t default to watching TV shows and movies for the whole day. Great items to go into this box are board games, coloring books, craft kits, books, and more. Update the box after every rainy day with new items.

3.       Plenty of kids run a lemonade stand in summer. Why not try something different, such as a bake stand? Kids can bake a small variety of treats such as cupcakes and cookies, then set up a stand. They can even offer lemonade as well! This makes the stand a multiple day activity, with all of the baking.

4.       Another fun idea that really utilizes kid’s creativity is to have them roleplay. Most kids engage in roleplay activities with items such as play kitchens, but push it further. Make the roleplay fresh. Have kids do a super hero plot, with someone as the hero, villain, and victim! Kids can dress up, use household items as props, or even make props for the occasion. Some other creative options include witches/wizards, western, and medieval times!

5.       Make a nature scavenger hunt for your kids. All you have to do is type up some items then take your kids outside or to the park to find everything. Need some examples of things to have kids hunt for? Send them searching for items such as sticks, multiple types of leaves, something green, different sized rocks, and more!

6.       Help your kids create something magical by working on a fairy garden together. This project will likely take you a few days and requires some planning. First you’ll need to find the right section of yard or container for your garden. Next you will have to get ideas for the garden so you can gather supplies. What does your kid want? A pond? A cave? Once you gather the materials, all that’s left to do is put it all together. If you want a detailed tutorial there’s tons of them online.

7.       Create a water park in your backyard! Put together different water activities. Set up the sprinkler, fill the baby pool, lay out the slip n’ slide, as well as any additional things you can think of! You could set up a water balloon and water gun stand, or make it like a real water park with a section of lawn chairs for resting in the sun. If you want to get very creative, you could even set up a snack station outside to serve as the food court!  

8.       Another great indoor activity is a themed movie night. Choose one or two movies, both centered around a similar topic, and make an event of it! For example, what if you choose two movies about magic? Make some snacks such as wizard hat cupcakes, and have everyone make their own wands to bring for the evening. What about a movie about animals? Have everyone wear something with an animal on it, such as a T-shirt. Have a big container of animal crackers for snacks. There’s tons of options with this one!

9.       Have fun with chalk in a new way! Are your kids bored of chalk? Try to challenge them! Have them pick out an art piece they like and print a picture of it. Your child can then try to re-create it in chalk. This will be more difficult and will likely occupy kids for a while.

10.   Celebrate cooking in a new way with a mud kitchen outside. Give your child several pots and pans, as well as some dishes to play with. We recommend old ones you no longer plan to use. Then have kids mix up their own “meals” using items from outside. Fill jars with dirt and sand. If you have any empty spice containers, fill them with pebbles, small sticks, and torn up leaves. Now kids can mix up “food” without using any actual ingredients.

There you have it! These great ideas are sure to keep young ones entertained. Give them a try next time your kids are looking for something new to do.

Summer Game Printable

August is half over, which means school will be starting up in just a couple short weeks. Are you still looking for something fun for kids to do at home? Then you’re in luck, because we have a new printable to offer you just in time for the end of summer!

Maybe kids are tired of being outside. Maybe you have rainy days. Or maybe you just need an activity for the evening or when it’s too hot to go out. Either way this new printable is sure to bring entertainment for younger kids. 

This newest printable is our Summer Maze Board Game! This game board is easy to print and can be given to kids to play with. It can even act as a two-in-one activity! Print the game on white paper and first let kids color the board. After they finish that, they can make their own game pieces then finally actually play the game.

This summer themed game is a great way to celebrate how fun summer was before sending kids back to school. So what are you waiting for? The game board is free. You can find it HERE.

Keep checking back with our blog! With the school year approaching, we’ll have tons of back to school items to feature to help you prepare for a new school year.

Enjoy that last bit of summer vacation!