Think Outside the Box Thursday: Sneaking Reading & Writing into Your Summer

If your children are of school age, you're likely entering the beginning of summer vacation. Perhaps the sweet taste of pride in your children's amazing academic accomplishments is still fresh on the tip of your tongue or perhaps you've moved into the zone of wondering how you will all survive the next two months. My husband and I often talk about the challenges that a 9 month school year presents. For one thing, working parents do not necessarily follow this particular schedule and the show goes on even while the kids are off from school. This leaves families to scramble to fill those days with camp, childcare, entertainment and other means of keeping the kids out of trouble while they're out of school. For many families, this is a significant financial burden as well. For children who spend all school year practicing skills related to literacy and writing (among many other subjects), the summer is a time they may become rusty and fall out of the routine of reading every day. Certainly there is benefit to slowing down and smelling the freshly bloomed roses. Many of my friends with older children are concerned, however, that the skills their sons and daughters worked so hard to develop during the school year will be neglected and diminish over the summer. Should we give our children "homework" over the summer and ensure that they continue to work on reading and writing? My answer is always in the form of "Yes, if..."

• Yes, if it won't be a battle.  You really don't need this to be a battle every day. The school year battles around homework are challenging enough from what I hear! At least then you get to send them off to their teachers for a decent chunk of the day. Fighting with kids about reading every day can make two months at home feel like two centuries for all parties involved and can also paint a negative image around reading and writing in general.
• Yes, if it feels like fun for you both! Some kids do like worksheets and some do not. The good news is, there are a lot of low cost or no cost options out there for worksheets and less traditional ways of practicing reading and writing.
• Yes, if you can include the whole family and each be working on something. Nothing feels like more of a drag than doing work while everyone else is playing. If you can make working on something (whether it's reading, writing, math, a hobby or a project) something everyone does either together or at the same time, individually, more power to you!

So now comes the fun part: how to sneak reading and writing into your summer without breaking the bank or the spirit of summer fun. I will include some suggestions applicable to children of all ages, for pre-readers and pre-writers (generally preschool aged) and for early readers and writers (generally Kindergarten and up through the earlier grades).

For Children of All Ages:

• Libraries are the place to be over the summer! Many have very engaging kids' programming throughout the summer months that encourage reading, writing, even math, science, computer literacy, art, drama, music and more. Our library system has story times for younger ones in a variety of separate age groups as well as programming for older children. Many libraries also have summer reading programs with kid-friendly incentives. If "getting your children to read" feels like a battle at home, take it outside of the house and let a neutral party (like your local librarian) take over!
• School supplies are not just for the school year! I've said it before and I'll say it again--there's nothing more powerful than a kid with a new notebook and set of pencils, pens, markers or crayons. If worksheets are not your children's preferred method of writing or reviewing letters and site words, a blank notebook can become their (and your) best friend. Let it be their journal and whether you choose to organize prompts or activities or just let them use it independently for drawing, doodling, writing and recording, they will be working on the skills they have developed whether they realize it or not. Many children enjoy using a journal in nature or to record memories from camp and vacations. Older children might like to keep a journal with a group of friends and pass it back and forth. Many families even keep a journal between older children and a parent/parents as a means to communicate more privately. School supplies are generally discounted at the end of the school year, so now is a great time to buy!

I introduced a journal well before my little guy was into holding pens and pencils...

He grows more and more independent with it as he gets older. It will surely make a great keepsake down the line!

• Take it outside! The weather is great and you all want to be out there anyway. Set up some lawn chairs and bring your books and journals along, set up a letter or word scavenger hunt, draw/write with chalk. Make a family scrapbook of your outdoor adventures or play some great gross motor games using letters or site words as appropriate for your children's age and reading level.

For Early Readers & Writers: 

• Maximize your screen time: If screen time is a part of your routine, there are amazing apps, videos and games that can encourage reading and writing skills. Many are available on library computers for use by patrons. 
• Coloring/Activity Books are great for children (and grown ups!) of all ages who might not love "traditional" writing and reading exercises but do love to color. Nowadays you can even find great ones on sale in the Dollar Tree. Coloring in a coloring book does promote the fine motor skills and strokes/lines associated with writing letters and penmanship. Additionally, directions in activity books and the activities themselves will surely get your children reading! Coloring books are also a great activity for quiet times of the day.
• Use rewards, incentives, or friendly competitions wisely: if it works for your reader/writer, use a reward/incentive system to trade in books read or activities completed for a prize experience, book or toy. If friendly competition inspires your kids, make it a family affair and chart minutes spent reading or (for kids who read at the same level) number of books read. Again, the library is a great resource for this type of programming and they often have summer reading contests during the summer for school aged children. 
• Speaking of the library...a child who is reluctant to read may be quite passionate about something else. Whether it's a particular animal, character, sport or activity, use it to your (and their) advantage. Give your little learner an opportunity to test out the search mode of your library's computer system (or enlist the help of a librarian) and find a collection of summer reading based on your child's interests.
• Think outside of the box: Does your child like cooking? Get to the kitchen and practice reading and recipe, measuring, pouring, mixing and more whipping up some favorite recipes. Got a little scientist? There is plenty of reading and writing involved when you run some simple experiments at home. Check out some of the science posts here for ideas. Got a little engineer? Building involves a great deal of fine motor work (related to writing) and following instruction booklets to put together a particular toy or building set is a great reading activity. A child who does not love books might love magazines. A child who does not love to write might like to type and record stories, poems or even a blog. If your child has a particular passion or interest, it is likely that reading and writing skills can be connected to it and are already inherently a part of it.
• Write it in the sand. Literally. Or shaving cream. Or salt or sugar or with clay/playdough. Or on the sidewalk with sidewalk chalk. Or in the mud with a stick. It doesn't always have to be with pen and paper--writing can happen in a lot of places with a lot of things.

For Pre-readers and Pre-Writers:

• Follow along our Story Stretcher series and find some great ways to go beyond the book through meaningful play activities. You can use ideas you find here, your own ideas, your child's ideas or find other great ones on Pinterest by searching your favorite book titles, authors or themes.
• Pre-writing doesn't always involve pencils. Building fine motor skills associated with proper use of a writing utensil sometimes involves practicing with pencils, markers, crayons, pens and such and other times includes cutting with scissors, working with playdough or clay, stringing beads, working on puzzles and building with small manipulatives. One of our favorite out of the box fine motor activities right now is cutting the grass with safety scissors. It might just take all summer to get our lawn mowed, but that's OK! Sidewalk chalk is another great medium for practicing letters and writing/drawing skills. Gross motor skills and larger muscle movement are also imperative to early writing. Including activities like tracing a large drawn or masking tape letter with a toy truck or car or on tip toe or by jumping/hopping/tight-rope walking are all great ways to get the whole body involved and active!

• Learning letters and pre-reading doesn't always involve books and flash cards! Playing with letter manipulatives like puzzles, magnets, foam/felt letters, blocks, stamps, cookies cutters, stickers and more are all great ways to encourage exposure to letters in uppercase and lowercase form. If your little one is into arts and crafts, you can put together your own alphabet book of letter themed crafts and pictures. You can print off coloring sheets, make collages, cut pictures and letters from magazines/junk mail, use stickers and stamps--the options are limitless! Go on a letter sound scavenger hunt in your house. Give your kids a basket and a letter and you'll all be amazed at what they come back with. (This can be a creative way to clean up as well.) Take foam letters, a ladle and some plastic bowls to the pool or sprinkler pad for some alphabet soup. 

• Talk and PLAY! Daily conversations and natural play build vocabulary, reading and writing skills without even trying. Don't be afraid to teach big words to your little kids! Reading together is great and so is playing together. Repeat after me: play is enough, it is enough, it is enough...

And for the grown-ups:

Don't stress! Play at all ages is how children (and many adults) learn. My mantra above really applies to any age in my opinion. If you can and want to do more, great! If you cannot or your kids aren't into it, don't stress over it. Find a balance and routine that works for you and Happy Playing!

Here are a few links that might be helpful:

• Here are some great free printable alphabet coloring pages
• One of my favorite blogs, "No Time For Flash Cards" has a post with a great collection of active literacy games to get you moving this summer
• There are some great free writing prompts and activities for early writers at Teachnology
• There are some great free printable sight word and phonics booklets as well as other literacy materials available for home use at Hubbard's Cupboard. Some of the materials on this site are religious in nature, however many are secular and great for use with readers and writers of all ages and stages.