Not long after summer arrives, moms wonder how to fill the time and keep kiddos occupied in healthy ways. We may find ourselves held hostage by video games and Netflix, looking back at a lost summer of opportunity. For those looking for better options, most local libraries have summer reading programs as resources for families. Online options like Scholastic Summer Reading make it easy for everyone, rural and urban, to access tools for reading fun. If we can just get our crew to story time, rows marked “Kids Collections,” or a yard sale where kids left for college, summer reading can be our saving grace in more ways than one.
Imagine your child spending 20 minutes in quiet, self-directed activity that also helps them grow and stimulate their potential. Imagine the 20 minute activity is something you enjoy doing with your child some days, bringing you closer and deepening your bond. Imagine those 20 minutes filled with something your child can love for a lifetime, something to share through every season of life. Imagine those 20 minutes don’t cost anything, but pay immeasurable dividends. Imagine how this wonderful 20 minutes could answer boredom, bring calm to crazy kiddos, and contribute to your sanity when lazy days of summer are a little too “lazy.”
Imagine how summer reading might just be your saving grace.
By reading 20 minutes a day children benefit in intellectual, emotional, social, and physical ways. As eyes track words on a page and process illustrations, the brain is stimulated, creating connections between prior knowledge and new information. Skills in listening and literacy are cultivated, even when (maybe especially when?) content focuses on areas of interest, instead of subjects reserved for the “academic part” of the year. Reading at home or during personal, free time feeds enthusiasm for reading and discovery, shaping children into lifelong learners.
There’s so much for a child to love about reading: discovery, color, language, imagination, rhythm, characters, places, snuggling. What a gift to cultivate a love for reading in our kiddos!
A child who loves books is more likely to love learning.
In addition to all the good summer reading brings to life by tucking a book into your pool bag, keeping books in the car, or packing a book for vacation, learning to love books may also just be a game changer. When we intentionally remove the hesitation and intimidation some children experience with books and reading, we open the door to embrace reading that can change their life.
When children spend time reading or listening to reading, examining rich illustrations, and hearing the patterns of language, they are more prepared for later reading that will be deeper and more complex. By handling books consistently, young readers, and even emergent readers, develop a greater comfort level with visually sorting words on white space, managing pages, tracking progress, and understanding the unfolding of a story or subject. It’s not scary anymore. It’s not a place to be anxious. The earlier a child becomes comfortable with engaging books, the more prepared they will be to engage The Book.
A child who loves books is more prepared to love God’s Book.
Summer is a sweet opportunity to rest and play together. It can also be a time to prepare children for the day when they can pick up a copy of the Bible for themselves to find out how His story unfolds and what it has for them. One day we want our children to say, “I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.” (Psalm 119:16) When children learn to love reading, they are better prepared to read and remember God’s word in His book the Bible.
Summer reading might just be a mom’s saving grace, the answer to moments of boredom or days when rest turns to waste. It also might pave the way for words of life to be welcomed into a child’s heart and mind through the pages of God’s Book. Summer reading just might be our saving grace.
Find Summer Reading Lists 2016 for kids and teens here.
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