If your child can participate in a summer reading program, here are four reasons why joining one is a great idea.
#1 Encourages Reading Habits (even with reluctant children)
As children develop reading habits, this creates a foundation that serves them well throughout their lifetime. Reading and writing skills feed into one another, so improving one will help with the other while also enhancing the size of the child’s vocabulary. Besides preparing children for schoolwork, a lifelong reading habit can help them later when they pursue a career.
Each of these benefits is also true for reading during the school year, with summer reading programs having another key advantage. As ReadingEggs.com points out, summer programs are more flexible and allow program organizers and parents to take a different approach—one where books are paired with activities, and this interactivity can help children who struggle to sit in a chair with a book.
#2 Helps to Prevent Summer Learning Loss
Children have more of an opportunity to pick out their own books when school isn’t in session, which can encourage them to read more. According to ParentingScience.com, though, to prevent backsliding in reading skills, encourage your child to read interesting books that are also a bit challenging. The ideal book is one that excites your child while containing new concepts and vocabulary words.
As the school year ends, talk to your child’s teacher to find out what reading level would stretch your child’s knowledge in doable ways. Perhaps the teacher will have specific book recommendations, or you could ask for advice at your local library.
#3 Summer Reading Improves Spelling, Grammar, and More
Reading programs, the New York Library System states, can give children greater access to materials and programs available in libraries, which can jumpstart their becoming lifelong patrons. The more that children read, they will likely continue to improve in how they write, spell, understand grammar, increase their vocabulary, and more.
While your child is in the library, they may spot books on subjects they hadn’t considered reading about before, expanding their opportunities to become increasingly more literate. Plus, as children read, they gain knowledge in the subjects covered in the books they read—broadly, such as math, science, and history, as well as in niche topics, such as the planets in the solar system or the life story of George Washington.
#4 Increases Empathy
As children read about other people, they can imagine what those people might have thought about events in their
lives and how what happened made them feel. In other words, they can boost their levels of empathy. As children connect with experiences outside their own, they can better understand another person’s perspective, which can also increase their levels of emotional intelligence.
Summer Reading Program at Horizon Education Centers’ Camp
At our summer camp for children in kindergarten through 12 years of age, you can keep your child engaged while school is out, including through our camp’s summer reading program. We offer weekly themes to stretch your child’s knowledge and imagination in fun ways with a focus on active brains, healthy bodies, and happy faces.
