By Nikki Moses
Summer slide, summer setback, dumber in the summer. Ask any educator, and you will find that a loss of reading skills among students can be as much a part of summer as baseball and ice cream cones; but, it doesn’t have to be!
Many children lose more than two months of reading achievement over the summer, according to the Campaign for Grade Level Reading. Some children do not.
Summer can be a time for reading adventures, trying new genres, family read-a-thons, camp outs with flashlights for reading, reading under the old apple tree, trips to the library followed by stops for ice cream…and reading skills can be maintained or increased.
What (or who) is the catalyst? YOU!
Take advantage of the summer break. Skills and drills, necessary to the educational process, can be left at school. Have fun. Be creative. Bond. Pick up a book that you have been meaning to read!