Are You Reading this Summer?

Did you know that Tuesday, June 23 is National Summer Learning Day? At Sylvan, this is pretty exciting! Since we work year round, we know the importance of making sure students' brains stay active during the summer months. Ten to twelve weeks is a LONG time off for most people. I know when I take a week long vacation, it takes me a few days to get back in the swing of things when I get back to work...imagine what it's like for students after a summer long break!

With that in mind, I'm encouraged by the fact that Sylvan has partnered with the National Summer Learning Association to celebrate Summer Learning Day! Summer is such a fantastic time to enrich a child's skills, my favorite skill to encourage is READING! For a child to discover the enjoyment of being swept away by a good book is one of my greatest hopes! Part of making that happen is practice and making sure a child becomes proficient at reading. No one likes to do something they are not good at! I know I don't!

You can make a game out of improving those reading skills and make it fun. Mail time can be fun...take that junk mail that seems to fill the box and have your young child circle various words. Pick a word you know will occur a lot (like "the" or "of") and have the child seek and find.

To get your child practicing oral reading, have your child read any and everything out loud: street signs, store names, restaurant menus, etc. For an extra special treat, make a book on tape play it back or send it to a loved one who lives far away. I'm sure you have someone who would love to have that in their mailbox!

For older students, one of my favorite things Sylvan offers is the Advanced Reading Skills class. Students really get a kick out of how much they can improve their reading skills (speed and comprehension) in just the first class. It's especially good for those kids who are competitive...even with themselves! There is a class starting next week, so jump on that bandwagon and sign up! Your student will LOVE it!

Most of all, make sure that you have lots of books on hand. Sylvan has a great resource for families called BookAdventure. It's a free reading incentive website designed to help students become more motivated about reading.

Any of us would be happy to talk to you more about how to help your student become a more engaged reader and perhaps avoid that "Brain Drain" this summer!

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