Read. Read. Read. From the very beginning we need to be reading to your children. We need to encourage our children to read at every age. Summer time we want our children to spend a lot of time outside but during those peak sun hours we could let them stay in side and read.
Macmillan/McGraw-Hill wants to help encourage reading during the summer. So one of their authors Tim Shanahan has some tips to share with us.
Summer Reading Tips from Tim Shanahan, author of Macmillan/McGraw-Hill’s best selling elementary reading program, Treasures. (http://www.macmillanmh.com/reading/)
Dr. Shanahan is also the past president of the International Reading Association.
1. Read Together! Summer usually allows families to spend more time together. This is a great opportunity to read more with your kids to help keep their skills fresh. Children learn a lot when you read to them. Even if your child can read by himself, take turns reading to each other, and be sure to talk about what you are reading. Ask questions, answer questions and explore the ideas together.
2. Share the Experience. As kids get older, help them find books, magazines, or newspaper articles that they would enjoy reading. Take the time to read them too so you can discuss them. The point is to share the reading experience.
3. Ask Questions. Even if you are not reading the same books they are, talk to your children about what they are reading. Ask them questions such as what happened in the story or what might happen next, who is their favorite character, or who is the villain. This builds summarization and recall skills, and your interest helps increase their interest.
4. Designate a Reading Spot. Create a summer reading nook or spot in your home where your child can read. Make sure there is good light and comfortable seating and try to set aside one TV/video-game-free night per week for family reading. Reading night can be a special snack night, too. There is nothing better than reading with a big bowl of popcorn!
5. Use Resources. If your children’s school program provides materials for home activities over the summer, absolutely use them.
6. Find Reading Opportunities Everywhere. If you are taking a trip this summer, send for brochures and maps and have your children read them aloud with you.
7. Leverage Pop Culture. Don’t ignore the value of graphic novels or a popular series like the Twilight books or Harry Potter. These are great ways to encourage adolescents to read more.
8. Plan an Outcome Activity. Whether you are reading to your children or they are reading themselves, plan an outcome event or activity based on the reading. For instance, if the book has been made into a movie, watch the DVD together after reading the book. Book reading can lead to picnics, museum visits, ballgames or even family vacations.
9. Write Letters to Your Children. Writing to your kids is a great opportunity to remind them of experiences that they had when they were younger or to tell them about the lives of older people in the family, like their grandparents. Kids love getting letters and you can even encourage them to write back, helping them practice their writing skills.
10. Mix it up. Don’t just focus on storybooks. Kids often prefer to read about fact rather than fiction, including books and articles about the environment, animals, current events, sports, and other topics. Talk to them about what they like and help them find reading materials that match those interests.
About Macmillan/McGraw-Hill
Macmillan/McGraw-Hill is an elementary school text book publisher. They are dedicated to educating children and to helping professionals educate with the best materials that they can provide.
Macmillan/McGraw-Hill believes that it is our obligation to:
provide the best value to teachers, and quality instructional ideas and content for all children; provide assessment ideas, approaches and tools; help in reaching all learners; help with communicating results to students, administrators, parents and the community; provide ease of use and manageability of materials
provide all students with materials that are motivating and challenging and that build, encourage and support success; provide opportunities for measurement of progress; provide opportunities for multiple learning experiences; prepare students to be life-long learners and good citizens in a diverse and changing world
To Help Encourage Reading Macmillan/McGraw-Hill is sponsoring a giveaway on Mom Start.
Treasures is a research based, comprehensive Reading Language Arts program for grades K-6 that gives educators the resources they need to help all students succeed. High quality literature coupled with explicit instruction and ample practice ensures that students grow as life-long readers and writers.
Enter to win:
Three of my readers will win an age appropriate set of Treasures Reading.
To Enter:
Leave a comment telling us what your reading tip is. How do you encourage reading?
Extra Entries:
Leave as many tips as you want.
Anyway that you spread the word about this giveaway counts as an extra entry. (tweeting – link to giveaway, e-mailing others – link to giveaway, blogging – link to giveaway, just share the gift of reading)
Leave a comment for every entry and giveaway ends June 25th.
I encourage reading by taking my kids to the library once a week, so they can choose books that they are interested in.
We leave books all around our home so that our little one is surrounded by them. He loves looking at them and often asks us to read to him.
Tweeted ~ http://twitter.com/susanlanai/status/2026946666
My granddaughter and her friend eagerly away the summer reading contest sponsored by our public library. They earn free product coupons and name recognition along the way until the get the chance to pick out a prize for completing of the project.
We read every night and have done so for as long as I can remember. I think it helps with my son’s already diverse vocabulary and spelling!
We go to the library several times a month and get loads of books. We make sure to get any special interest the kids are interested in.
My son and I read all the time. We read very often, but in additon this quality time we read when he first wakes up, when he is trying to use the potty (we are toilet learning), before nap time, and before bedtime. Books are a major part of his life.
My son is also never restricted for his home library and he will very often be caught “reading” on his own. He will also continue to “read” to himself during nap time when I have finished reading to him.
It’s harder in the summer with our nice Seattle weather, but we typically get to the library for story time and checking out at least once a week.
We also visit our local “Half Price Book Store” once a week too. We can find some great deals on new and used books from $.50-$2.00.
My son also helps me look at our toddler group’s Scholastic order forms to chose the books we’ll buy.
We also promote reading with our friends by including a book or into as presents. We also believe literary is the best gift you can give a friend.
When we are done with our books we try to pass them along to local Friends of the Library who will sell them to put on library programs, or we offer them to friends with children who will read them.
I am also part of the MOMS Club and I email our member about special reading programs. Our libraries summer reading program offers insentives including a grand prize of laptops. The Half Price Book Store also has a summer reading program offering cash cards to buy books to kids reading 15 minutes a day.
Twetted:
SumSkybaby – Have your kids read all summer long http://bit.ly/7woOf
less than 5 seconds ago from web
reading something of interest is a great way to promote reading
shopannies@Yahoo.com
encourgament goes along way so give applause when they are reading
shopannies@yahoo.com
reading together is always great take time and read as a pair
shopannies@Yahoo.com
play the street sign game to teach new words to an early reader
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twittered http://twitter.com/shopannies/status/2034688028
shopannies@Yahoo.com
I encourage reading in my grandson by reading to him and taking him to the book store or library to pick out books that he likes.
janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com
I also think it’s very important for your children to know you read. When my son is older I hope he looks back and remember not only me reading to him, and him reading to himself or me, BUT I hope he also remembers me loving books too.
lrad by example and read too
Read to them, let them choose their own books and make sure they observe you reading. Thanks!
I always encouraged my children to read now I do it to my grandchildren, I buy them books or I get them free at the library when they throw them out.
MY DAUGHTER AND I READ TOGETHER EVERY NIGHT. WE HAVE READING TIME. WE ALSO HAVE WEEKLY TRIPS TO THE LIBRARY. READING IS VERY IMPORTANT!
I start reading to my kids from day one, and a variety of books so we can find out what they like. They also go to the library and pick their own books out, and we always read a story at bedtime.
My kids knew bedtime was never quite there until reading time was over…and some nights there was a LOT of reading to do!
I was also fortunate to have a younger child who wanted to everything her big brother did…and he was a reader. So often, he would read to her.
Both of them got into books that way.
love to read to my grandkids
We have lots of books for her, and I set an example by reading frequently. It’s hard to find things to read that compete with Disney…
My daughter doesn’t read yet, but she enjoys sitting and looking through books on her own. When I see her doing that, I try to grab a book or magazine to read myself, to show her it’s a family activity.
We don’t have tv, so my husband and I are always reading. My three-year-old reads too, and my two-year-old and my one-year-old pretend to read. If they see you doing it and you have plenty of books within their reach, then they’ll mimic you at first, and they’ll do it on their own. We also make weekly trips to the library which makes reading a lot more exciting for them because they get to have “new” books.
Alicia Webster
5webs@comcast.net
My little guy has yet to be born (just a few more weeks) but I’ve been a nanny for several years. To encourage my nanny charges to read we’d go about once every week or two to the library where they could pick out books that we kept in the car so they could read each day as I drove them around to their different activities. Last summer we also signed them up for a couple summer reading clubs. Half-Price books has an awesome one, where if they turn in their reading reports each week they get a $3 gift card each week…enough to buy a book of their own to keep!!
In our house we will be reading books to our little guy and showing by example how cool it is to read…and we’ve got lots of books on our shelves!!
I keep lots of books for my grandson and each time he visits I make sure and have a new one for him. He is always excited to see the new book. Please include me in your giveaway.
Thanks
carlene
iluvreading(at)verizon.net
Start reading to your child as early as possible to get yourself and your child in the habit. My husband read to my pregnant belly–REALLY!–and we’ve read to our daughter almost every day since.
We keep books in every room of our house so our daughter can pick one up and “read” it–she’s not even two yet so she doesn’t know how to read, but she likes to look at the pictures and make up stories about them–or ask us to read to her any time she wants.
We hang out at the library so much that the people who work there treat us like old familiar friends. Letting your children pick out their own books is exciting and empowering for them. I can’t wait until my daughter can get her own library card in her name–she will be so excited!
We go to (FREE!) story time at our local Barnes and Noble almost every Wednesday. An employee reads a book and walks the kids through making a related craft, then a snack is served. Programs like these are a great way to get your children excited about reading.
As you can tell, I have LOTS of reading tips because I think reading is so important!
Books are expensive–buy them used to save a lot. I got to our local McKay Used Books and usually don’t spend over $1 per book–many times I find books in terrific shape for as little as 35 cents! More books means more variety for your kids, which will hopefully keep them interested in reading!
im an email subscriber
use plenty of light to read with mverno@roadrunner.com
We purchased clip-on lights for our children’s beds and allow them to stay up later if they spend the time reading in bed.
We started going to the library with our kids when they were babies and go every week. We also read to them at night and whenever they ask.
Reading to them and reading around them!
Be animated when you read! Use different voices for different characters–bring the story alive for the child! Get him/her involved in the actions of the story.
We act out the things we read. It’s fun.
Make reading a part of the routine that does not suffer from mix-ups, being behind schedule or life’s ups and downs.
Where ever my children and I are, whatever we are doing, no matter how late it is, we read before we go to sleep. It helps end the day on the pleasant note. I still can’t sleep without a chapter and I think reading is the one constant in my life that I can always find pleasure in.
i just need the chance
I offer my kids incentives to memorize things I have read to them