Summer is coming, and with it are months of leisure for your kids. If you aren’t careful, your children will lose much of what they have learned during the school year. How can you maintain the leisure of summer without losing everything your children have worked so hard to learn this year? The answer is to enroll them in the local library’s summer reading program.
The Charlotte area has many excellent libraries that offer summer reading programs that will keep your kids interested in reading throughout the summer months. Here are some tips to make the most out of your children’s summer reading opportunities.
First, enroll in the summer reading program early in the summer. Many libraries will have reading program launch parties. If your child is reluctant to participate, use the launch party to create interest. Enrolling early gives your child more time to rack up the books or pages for the contest your library is holding, and, in the case of libraries that offer weekly prizes, an early signup means more prizes.
Schedule Library Trips
In order for the summer library program’s incentives to work for your child, they need to be in the library frequently. Schedule a day each week that is your family library day. Contact the library to see if they have children’s programs during the week, and schedule your trip on those days to encourage your kids to be excited about visiting. If going to the library is part of your regular routine, your children will be more interested in picking out new books and doing some reading.
Schedule Reading Time
Schedule time into your day that is set aside for reading. During this scheduled reading time, you need to do some reading too. If your children see you reading, and enjoying it, they will be more interested in doing it themselves.
If you have a struggling reader, use your scheduled reading time to read together. Don’t do all of the reading for your struggling child, but do enough of it to provide the support needed to keep the child engaged.
Embrace Audio Books for Struggling Readers
Struggling readers can read along with an audio recording of a book to benefit from the summer reading program without becoming frustrated. Talk to your librarian to find books with audio recordings available.
The summer reading program at your local library can be a powerful tool to keep your kids reading during the summer. If you need additional support, consider a summer program from the Swan Learning Center. Together with the library program, Swan Learning Center’s summer camps can help your child stay strong through the summer.
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