6 Simple Ways to Improve Your Child's Reading Skills Over the Summer

The end of a school year doesn't have to necessarily mean and end to learning and nothing is more important to academic achievement than being a good reader.

Over the summer months, parents can provide the one-on-one time and attention that will lead their children to success in reading. Below are a few fun and effective ways that you can try at home to help your children become better readers over the summer months. Implementing even a few of these ideas will have a positive impact on your child's education.

Set aside a regular time, each day, to read to your children.

Studies show that regularly reading out loud to children will produce gains in reading comprehension, vocabulary, and the decoding of words. No matter your child's age, it will increase their desire to read independently. 

Surround your child with age appropriate reading material.

Children with available reading materials at home score higher on student achievement tests. Encourage your kids to read by having a large supply of books and magazines at their reading level. Put the reading materials in cars, bathrooms, bedrooms, family rooms, and even by the TV.  Books are less expensive than toys or video games and the pay off later in life is much larger.

Start at a family reading time.

Establish a daily time when everyone in the family reads together silently. Seeing you read will inspire your children to read. Just 15 minutes of each day is sufficient to increase a child's reading fluency.

Encourage a wide variety of reading activities.

Make reading an integral part of your children's lives. Have them read menus, roadside signs, game directions, weather reports, movie time listings, sports scores, and other practical everyday information. Also, make sure they always have something to read in their spare time such as waiting for appointments or riding in a car.

Show enthusiasm for your children's reading

How you react to your child's reading has a great influence on how hard they will try to become good readers. Be sure to give them genuine praise for their efforts.

Develop a library habit.

Take your children to the library every few weeks to borrow new reading materials. IT'S FREE! The library also offers summer programs for children of all ages that may appeal to your children and further increase their interest in reading.

The Impact of a Teacher

Some time ago, I attended the funeral of a dear friend of 23 years. Dave and I taught and coached together for a number of years.  At the funeral were some of our former students. Now, I normally dislike the "open mic time" that has become vogue at funerals as of late. Allowing anyone to stand up and say a few words about the deceased.  But, on this particular day, a couple of those former students (now grown men with families of their own) each took a turn saying more than a few words completely off the cuff.

They talked about the impact that this man had on their lives. That impact was deeper than some of the long forgotten daily curricular lessons.  They wanted to talk about the person, the passion he had for working with his students, the life lessons he was able to pass on, sometimes in the classroom and sometimes on the field of play.  They didn't talk about WHAT he taught them, as much as HOW he taught them.  Never allowing them to give less than HE expected of them which was often more that they had expected of themselves.  At the time, they didn't always like or appreciate it.  Now, they understood.

One of those former students told of this man teaching his students to be proud of who they were, where they were from, and what they represent.  He took that advice to heart and being a Native American chose to go work at the Meskwaki Settlement near Tama Iowa.  He works with Native American youth and helped start the Meskwake Settlement School football program.  He talked about passing those same life lessons he learned on to the youth he now works with.  Every time he teaches or coaches a child he uses the techniques, analogies and lessons that Dave had taught him.  Not only impacting one generation, but generations to come. It was these statements that really started me thinking about the true impact of a teacher.

We are given a rare gift when we get to teach children.  We have often heard that, as teachers, we raise up the doctors, lawyers, CEO's, nurses, mechanics, who go on to become productive leaders in their communities.  What we often don't realize is that when we touch the life of a child, we can be touching generations to come.  We often teach like we were taught (the good and the bad). If this is true, then this next generation will teach as we taught them (also the good and the bad).  This is powerful stuff. It is also a tremendous responsibility.

Our students may or may not remember specific skills or lessons we teach daily, but they will remember HOW we teach them. They will be impacted by the person teaching them, the passion they teach with, and how that person made them feel everyday.  Each moment during a day in school teachers are given a gift, a rare opportunity to make a difference, have an impact.  It's a big responsibility, but as a couple former students reminded me as we said goodbye to a friend and a mentor, its worth it.