When summer vacation begins, parents of elementary
school children think of keeping their kids engaged in some extracurricular
activities. Before summer break, teachers would have spent their time teaching
new material besides taking them through new concepts. But once school vacation commences, children just stay away from all things academic as
far as possible.
After all, it is a natural
tendency for children to start playing, going to meet the grandparents, and even
visiting cousins and friends. They may simply idle away their time. But there is an opportunity for parents to incorporate a little reading or writing sessions
intermittently.
Why is
this Summer Reading Necessary?
It is natural for children to forget a substantial amount of what was taught in
school and spend their summer without a care in the world. But that just means
that when school re-opens after the summer break, they go back having to relearn what they have learned in the previous school year.
This is why educational experts from around the world have agreed that it is a lot more than just a great habit
to encourage children to read during their summer vacation as well.
How to
Encourage Children to Read during the summer?
While a few children might simply love studying and go to sit
and read on their own, most kids in elementary school would need
some incentives to sit and read. School teachers and parents might get
together to draft a summer reading plan for the same effect.
In order to prevent summer reading loss, teachers might have
a program where they can have at least five or six of the children’s favorite
lessons on board. They can give as an assignment and have an evaluation prepared after the first week school reopens.
Children can pick one of their favorite books for the summer
and read it out loud for thirty minutes at least every day during the break. This would be a great way to keep the child engaged during the
holidays too.
As they say, “The child that reads becomes the adult that
thinks.”
