Summer Reading

Research has shown that kids who do not read over the summer break will lose more than two months of reading achievement. This can be overcome by reading 4 to 6 books during the break from school. My friend Kristine wrote this byline with information from the Reading is Fundamental organization. If you are not familiar with RIF.org please check them out and see the incredible work they do to bring literacy to children in the U.S.
For our family we decided to create a board to store reading logs and or forms. See our version below. Second we track progress by having our girls fill in their logs. The log should be either by time spent reading or by books read. Last we reward for the effort and completion. The rewards can be simple and do not have to be monetary.
There is many national companies that reward children as well such as Barnes and Noble, for every eight books kids get a free one, Scholastic.com, Pizza Hut and Pottery Barn Kids have their own programs.
Local libraries participate as well and many have great book clubs through the summer.
With older children read a book that would interest you both and talk about your progress as you both read along.
This could be a way to rediscover the classics you read in junior high or
high school.
Children enjoy reading if its fun and at their level but they also enjoy it most if they see you as the parent enjoying reading. Reluctant readers need encouraging material so a magazine, newspaper or sports article counts. Talk to your local librarian and or teacher for best tips with reluctant readers.