Parents, summer vacation approaches.
The pressure to keep kids reading over the summer has officialy begun. Do need some helpful tips for summer reading?
Never fear.
Scholastic's Maggie McGuire and The Washington Post's Amy Joyce came to the rescue today by answering some amazing summer reading questions submitted by parents nationwide via "Live Q & A" at ON PARENTING.
Some major highlights include:
* Reading role modeling is one of the most important ways to inspire kids to read. Keep reading books in front of your kids. It does have a HUGE impact.
* Show everything counts as reading, especially for kids who do not grab a book as their "go to" for reading. Not every kid reads novels - at least in the beginning. Kids all have interests and passions. Love baseball? Grab baseball cards, bios on great players, read the sport page in newpaper. Show everything counts as reading.
* Read aloud to reluctant readers. This shared experience helps kids associate reading as a fun, interactive activity. Be creative and go with blog entries, graphic novels and more.
* There are always age-appropiate reads across numerous genres. Find your child's favorite genre, skim the content and share with others, including friends' parents, to help spread the word on some great reads.
* Controversial topics and situations may arise in childhood classics. Kids want to be seen as being adventurous, courageous and independent. They live vicariously via these characters. It's a great idea to read these stories with or along side your kids and talk about what they love about these stories and characters - they make for great book group discussions.
* Self-discovery is key for reluctant readers. "Plant" books across the house for your child to find related to their favorite subject, topic or interest. 92% of Kids are more likely to read books they choose as opposed to being forced by an authority figure.
* Remember, the joy of reading is the most powerful force to create a life-long reader.
To review the whole live chat, please go to: http://live.washingtonpost.com/onparenting0528.html
In addition, don't forget to check out these 5 ways to get kids reading this summer as well by Maggie McGuire.
To learn more about summer reading initiatives, go to www.scholastic.com/summer to sign up your child for the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge.
Scholastic
