Once school lets out, kids don’t want to hear anything that has to do with school, homework, or learning in any capacity. It’s important not to lose this time to sloth, or else much of the vital work to develop the child’s cognitive capacities will go to naught. If you want your child stay excited about learning or reading over the summer, here are some ways you can help.
Participate in your library’s summer reading challenges. Many local libraries offer summer reading programs especially to encourage school students to read while they’re not in class. Depending on the age level, the summer reading program may include challenges for number of pages or hours spent reading as well as events for the kids. Little ones can enjoy story times, older students can participate in book discussions, and any child can just enjoy time spent at the library.
Find books they want to read. Author Frank Serafini once remarked, “There is no such thing as a child who hates to read; there are only children who have not found the right book.” If you have a child who is a reluctant reader, you can help them figure out what it is they’re looking for in a book. Perhaps, for example, your child has trouble getting into historical fiction, but books about sports engage your child really well.
Turn off the wifi. One of the biggest impediments to children reading is that there is something way more fun to do online. From computer games to social media, access to the internet can swallow time like a black hole. If you’re hellbent on making sure your children spend time in books, talking with each other, doing chores, or generally not being on their phones, unplug the wifi for a few hours at a time throughout the day to remove the potential distraction. Some diabolical parents choose to change the wifi password until their children can demonstrate that their chores are done and responsibilities are handled.
Play audiobooks in the car. Time spent in the car running errands is not time wasted. Rather, make sure your kids are engaged in a story even en route to the grocery store or soccer practice. You can check out audiobooks on CD from most local libraries, and many libraries offer free subscriptions to online audiobook databases like Hoopla Digital or Overdrive. You can download audiobooks directly to a mobile phone and play them in the car to make your drive time story time.