Summer Reading Tips For Parents

According to the Coordinated Campaign for Learning Disabilities, reading builds visualization, thinking, and language abilities. If you discover that your child is having trouble with reading, he or she may have a learning disability, as 80 percent of children with learning disabilities struggle with reading skills. Early identification, however, can allow children challenged in this area to develop ways to learn how to read effectively, ultimately developing skills to lead a successful and productive life!

Parents should remind children that children need free time in the summer to relax and enjoy the pleasure of childhood — including reading! Here are some tips to make the activity as engaging and enjoyable as possible:

*Read aloud together with your child every day. Make it fun by reading outdoors — on the front steps or patio, at the beach or park. For younger children, point out the relationship between sounds and words.

*Set a good example by providing plenty of reading material around the house. Turn off the television and pick up a book!

*Read the same book your children are reading and discuss it. This is the way to develop habits of the mind and build capacity for thought and insight.

*Let kids choose what they want to read, and don’t turn your nose up at popular fiction. It will only discourage the reading habit.

*Buy books on tape, especially for a child with a learning disability. Listen to them in the car, or turn off the television and have the family listen to them together.

*As you go through the day, cooking, gardening, grocery shopping, or playing games, use these times as opportunities to pick out words or read sentences.

*Take your children to the library regularly. The C.H. Booth Library sponsors a variety of reading programs and free activities for you and your children to enjoy!

*Subscribe, in your child’s name, to magazines like National Geographic World or Sports Illustrated for Kids. Encourage older children to read the newspaper and current events publications such as Newsweek. Engage them in discussion on the issues covered.

*Ease disappointment over summer separation from a favorite school friend by encouraging them to become pen pals. If both children have Internet access, email is an alternative option.

*Encourage children to keep a summer scrapbook, taping in souvenirs of your family’s summer activities, including postcards, ticket stubs, and photographs. Have your child write captions and read them aloud together as you look at the book together.

For more information on the Coordinated Campaign for Learning Disabilities, call 202-326-8700 or visit www.focusonlearning.org.