Our principal, Mr. Denton and librarian, Miss Lyle want to emphasize the joy of reading this summer! Read on to find some great resources, and concrete suggestions for how parents can make reading feel like a summer treat.

We believe everyone has a reader within them 📖

Here is a link to summer reading resources. You can just click this one link, and it will take you to a host of resources, including one from Sno-Isle Libraries regarding their summer reading program. 

Memorial Day is behind us, which means that summer has unofficially begun. In several weeks, school will be out and the rest of the summer will be before us, complete with family trips, barbeques and days at the beach.

All of the thinking students do at school makes the school year demanding. Summer vacation provides children with a chance to rest and recharge for the next school year. Kids benefit from fresh air, exercise and time with friends. That down time is important, but when students are completely down, it means they are losing ground. A summer without reading doesn’t just mean that students don’t make progress; it means that they actually suffer from summer reading loss and fall behind their peers. Unfortunately, summer reading loss has a greater impact on struggling readers. This summer reading loss accumulates from summer to summer, causing many struggling readers to be as much as two years behind by the time they reach middle school.

The good news is that summer reading loss is avoidable. In fact, students who engage with books every day can strengthen all of the literacy skills they learned during the previous school year. And, it doesn’t mean that children need to give up vacation and read all day. Primary students can maintain their reading skills by reading for about 20 to 30 minutes each day. Intermediate students can not only maintain, but also gain reading achievement by reading six or more books during summer vacation. There is a consistent connection between the number of books students read during the summer and academic gains. Additionally, children who participate in free voluntary reading gain skills in reading comprehension, writing style, vocabulary, spelling and grammar.

Summer vacation is a few weeks off, but now is the time to prepare. Getting things in place now will allow your family to start summer reading on the first day of break.

• Find the closest public library and visit it. Can you walk or ride a bike there?
• Sign up for library cards for each family member who doesn’t already have one.
• Search the online catalog and place holds on some books for each family member (moms and dads too!).
• Select a day to visit the library each week and start visiting. Pick up the books you put on hold if they are ready for you.
• Find a spot in your home for library books that are ready to go back to the library.
• Start creating times when the whole family reads together. Children will read more when they see their parents reading regularly.
• Set up a routine for older students to read to younger siblings or neighbors.

Summer vacation will be here before we know it. Use the time leading up to it to ensure that your child is ready to use summer as a time for maintenance and growth. You will be glad that you made the effort to make reading a regular part of your child’s summer break.