During the summer it can be hard to get children to practice skills learned during the school year. It can be especially difficult to keep kids reading. Sand toys replace board books on beach trips. Summer blockbusters and movies played on portable DVD players or on car ceilings are more appealing to kids than reading a good book. And since the J.K. Rowling wrapped up the Harry Potter series with the release of the last book published last summer, there isn’t a highly anticipated summer book on the horizon.
How can you keep your children reading over the summer?
This week is Reading Week! All week Tech Savvy Mama will be devoted to integrating reading into your summer plans. Throughout the week I’ll be providing tips, discussing incentive programs, showcasing great websites, and highlighting online services to motivate your reader all summer long.
And if the mention of Reading Week conjured up memories of cramming for finals the week before college exams, don’t worry. I’m not posting an exam at the end of this Reading Week!
So ponder these facts knowing that there’s no exam or essay at the end of the Tech Savvy Mama Reading Week:
- The #1 reason kids give for not reading more is that they can’t find books they like to read
- At age 8, the amount of time children spend reading for fun drops dramatically
- 74% of kids who read frequently name parents as the top source of book suggestions
- 49% of boys enjoy reading for fun “a lot” compared to 57% of girls
- 65% of kids say they have been doing better in school since they started reading the Harry Potter series.
Interesting, don’t you think?
Check back tomorrow to learn things you can do with your child that address each one of the above facts.
**Facts from The 2006 Kids and Family Reading Report
This blog post is original to Tech Savvy Mama and may not be reposted without permission. Tech Savvy Mama does not do paid blog posts.
Thanks for reading Tech Savvy Mama through your feed!
Original post by Tech Savvy Mama
©2012
This stat was very interesting:
74% of kids who read frequently name parents as the top source of book suggestions
My almost 8yo is an avid reader, and nearly all of the chapter books he reads these days are ones that myself or his father have given him. Usually these are books that we, ourselves, had enjoyed in childhood. I think he’s actually reading books a bit above his level (just finishing up the Narnia series for the second time) and I worry about his comprehension, though it doesn’t seem to slow him down at all. It will be interesting to see if he ever goes back and re-reads books as he gets older, and whether his older self gets more out of the story that his younger self missed.
I’ll check back!
Thanks for the good facts…
I’m off to read a book with my little guy.