School's Out! Summer Reading Challenge

School's officially out in these parts, and now I face an entire summer of making sure my kids continue to read and learn and don't get sucked into the dreaded "summer slide." To help parents and kids this summer -- particularly as so many county libraries lack the funds to run their own summer-reading programs -- Scholastic, iVillage and PBS Kids have teamed up for the iVillage Summer Reading Community Challenge. If you sign up, you get daily assignments to keep you and your kids motivated all summer long.

I hosted a Book Party to let my kindergartener's school mates and some of our neighbors know about the program, and they had so much fun filling out a giant Mad-Lib story, talking about their favorite books, and of course, trying on the Dr. Seuss hat and Arthur glasses. While the kids were playing, the adults played "literary celebrity." Each parent had a famous author's name attached to their backs and had to guess who they were based on yes and no questions. Some parents got theirs right away (J.K. Rowling, J.R.R. Tolkien, whereas others couldn't figure out which writer they were, like E.B. White and Virginia Woolf). But everyone got to participate, even if they weren't a natural at "Celebrity."

I also asked the several moms who attended to share their favorite children's book authors and some tips on how to keep their kids motivated to read during the summer. Here's what my friends had to say:

Suggested reading (or read-aloud):

"The Magic Treehouse" series by Mary Pope Osborne

"Little House on the Prairie" by Laura Ingalls Wilder

"Harry Potter" books by J.K. Rowling

"The Chronicles of Narnia" by C.S. Lewis

"Ivy and Bean" books by Annie Barrows

"Mercy Watson" books by Kate DiCamillo

"Rainbow Fairies" books by Daisy Meadows

"Ramona Quimby" books by Beverly Cleary

"Black Stallion" series by Walter Farley

"The Indian in the Cupboard" books by Lynne Reid Banks

"Big Nate" books by Lincoln Peirce

"Bone" graphic novels by Jeff Smith

Favorite authors:

• Lloyd Alexander
• Margaret Wise Brown
• Dr. Seuss
• Shel Silverstein
• Cynthia Ryland
• EB White
• Beverly Cleary
• JK Rowling
• Mo Willems
• Judy Blume

Tips for raising readers:

• Let them see you reading as often as possible, so they know it's part of your life
• Read aloud at night, even if your kids can read by themselves
• Reward finishing a book with a brand-new (or newly checked-out) book
• Have a book club-like discussion about books you and your children have read together
• Put all the new summer books in a special basket for each kid to go through
• Regular trips to the library
• Let kids read anywhere -- bed, potty, breakfast counter, car
• Put some books in a bag and carry it around
• Hesitant reader? Let them read comics, graphic novels

 

Thank you, iVillage, PBS Kids and Scholastic for sending me the party kit. I was not compensated to host, but all of my guests received two Martha Speaks books courtesy of PBS Kids.

 

Comments

[Eve]

It was a great party, thanks! And I'm thrilled to see Sofia in the photo up there! We're definitely going to do the summer reading challenge. Another good strategy is for older kids to read to younger kids. I love hearing Sofia read to her younger sister. Also, don't feel guilty about leaving books lying around everywhere (as we do...), because your kids will be more likely to read them.

[Down or Just Me]

I nanny for a little boy, Brandon, whom has been out of school for the summer and we decided that we would do a summer reading challenge together! I let him pick out a list for me and I him and we've had a blast! Every Friday we discuss the books we read and it has really boosted his idea about reading being fun! Do you have any additional reading that you can recommend for a school aged child... I think we're going to keep it going and just slow down the pace through the school year.