Early literacy is a fundamental component of our curriculum throughout the year, and it certainly doesn’t stop when summer arrives. Reading is a great way to keep children learning and engaged. And of course, it’s fun too!
At U-GRO Learning Centres, we’re celebrating literacy during the month of July through our Leaping Into Literacy program! Each of our centers has a jaguar in the lobby, and we’re asking our friends to cover it with spots. Each spot represents one book that they’ve read with their family. They’ll also add leaves each week to illustrate the books they’ve read as a class. We’re excited to see what each classroom’s jaguar looks like! More importantly, it’s a visual way for our friends to see what they’ve accomplished with their summer reading!
Whether or not your family is currently enrolled at U-GRO, we want you to celebrate literacy with us! Here is how you can keep your family reading this summer.
Why is Summer Reading Important?
Reading should never stop, especially during the summer! Here are some reasons to keep reading with your children over the summer.
- Prevent loss of academic skills learned in the previous year.
- Build upon skills and concepts to prepare for the following academic year.
- Improve literacy proficiency.
- Regular reading increases vocabulary, phonological awareness, letter recognition, and more.
- Increase self-esteem.
- Reading for fun can increase children’s desire to read.
Reading is something you can do anytime, anywhere. Keep books on hand during trips to the doctor’s office and pack them on summer vacation. Take weekly trips to the library too. It’s the perfect place to nurture your child’s love of reading (and makes for a great rainy day activity).
Use summer to really focus on books that align with your children’s interests. The more they can read about the things they love, the more likely they’ll want to read. Reading should be a positive, fun experience.
Find ways to get the whole family reading! There’s truly nothing better than cuddling up and reading a good book together.
Related Post: Make Reading Effective for Everyone
Summer Book Recommendations
Stuck on what to read first? We rounded up book suggestions from Reading Rockets, Brightly, and the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), some of our favorite resources across the web. Be sure to visit their websites for more suggestions. Your child’s teacher may have some great book recommendations too!
For Infants and Toddlers
Reading Rockets has book suggestions for all ages, including infants and toddlers. We like their suggestion of 12 Lucky Animals: A Bilingual Baby Book if you’re teaching your child a second language.
Another book on Reading Rockets’ list that’s sure to capture your little ones’ attention is Peek-a-Baby Farm by Mike Orodan. The book has flaps to reveal adorable baby animals. This is a good one for children who are learning and practicing animal sounds.
For Preschoolers
Brightly has a great list of summer books for preschoolers. One of our favorites suggestions is Look I’m an Engineer by DK. It’s full of activities and ideas to build on STEAM concepts. (We have some suggestions, too!)
Animalicious by Anna Dewdney and Reed Duncan also made Brightly’s list. We like that this book is a fun, unique way to practice ABCs!
For All Ages
The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) has a summer reading list for birth through preschool. This may be a good place to start if you have multiple little ones at home. If you’re looking for a bedtime story book, try Touch the Brightest Star by Christie Matheson.
Ten Little Toes, Two Small Feet by Kristy Dempsey is another title to introduce your children to a second language.
Download any of the lists above for book suggestions. Most are available on Amazon, but your local library will have many of these titles on hand too.
We hope your summer includes lots of reading! Follow us on Facebook to see how we celebrate literacy across our centers!