It’s summer! One great thing about being a Nanny is that we get to experience summer break…even though it is a little different then when we were kids ourselves. As Memorial Day hits I find myself getting excited about grilling out, longer days, swimming and reading by the pool.
My first grade teacher, Mrs. Simpson, read a chapter to our class daily. I remember Beverly Cleary‘s Ramona series and Judy Blume‘s Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and Superfudge. I can still picture her sitting on the stool in the front of the class, brown hair to her waist, pencil ski
rt, legs crossed, immersed herself in our book. While I don’t pride myself in having a great memory from my childhood, this obviously affected me to be able to remember authors and books names.
In grade school, I was one of those kids that was told to read over the summer and actually did. I’d read a few school books then the rest fun. I loved anything by Shel Silversteen and still quote the poem “There’s Too Many Kids in this Tub”. I think I read a Babysitters Club book each week one year before moving onto the Sweet Valley High series about twins Jessica and Elizabeth. [Kind of ironic that I am a Nanny for Multiples…. did these books play a part?]
I was read to and encouraged to read at a young age. By no means am I an English expert, but I do enjoy writing about things I am excited about. This comes as a surprise to me at times, because in high school I scored average on my Reading Comprehension in standardized testing. I think I just got bored with I was told to read and write about. As an adult my love for reading has returned. My husband and I have an overflowing library and spend many date nights at bookstores. I must have a 100 books waiting to be read.
Even more than reading alone, I love reading with the boys. I like to see their simple excitement, surprise, and joy as we journey through new books. We practice different voices and tones together. We change our faces to the emotion of “The Grouchy Ladybug“. We talk about how it must feel on Sunday, when “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” ate so much food on Saturday. We even act out “Little Miss Muffet” with our humongous fake spider. I love to see the knowledge they pick up as they forecast what will happen in books that we have read over and over again. Even more, I love that is together time, where we cuddle up and share special moments. I hope that as they grow they will always have this love for books, story-telling, learning, and reading.
This summer, we have begun having a set time each day to read books. While books are always available and in many rooms throughout the boys’ house, this is the time of day that I pick the books that we read. Not only does it coincide with our theme weeks (can you tell we just finished “Bugs and Butterflies”), but it is focused toward life lessons and age-appropriate messages. Since starting this, I have seen such a special bonding time develop where the boys are interacting with me and each other in a positive way.
Summer is filled with active times outside in the sun, what better to follow-up that up than relaxing with a good book. Reading is relaxing, interesting, fun and good for you… no matter what your age. Maybe it is time to find a brand new excitement for reading and bring your children along in that journey. Here are some tips to heat up your summer reading!
5. Create a Plan
Decide what you goal is for each child. It may be to get through school expectations or simply continue the joy of reading. Will they read 1 book a day or 1 chapter? From that, choose a method that will work into your schedule and family specifics. For example, we are doing 15 minutes of reading, before our after quiet time. I pre-choose the books, we all sit on the couch after cleaning up. We read a few different books each day, but re-read them throughout the theme we are on. For us, timing was important. This specific time brings the boys from active play to relaxation, a great transition. Our plan is to continue daily through the month of July (and beyond), with some incentive and visual reward. For older children, another idea my be to set up reading spots in different areas of the house, set a timer and have the child go to their special spot. How fun is it to read in a dark closet with a book light? Maybe hide reading chairs (from their preschool table) around the house and they have to search for the reading chair with their name on it. Get out of the box and create something new!
4. Make Use of Resources
So many of the libraries have already begun their summer reading and book stores are offering free and discounted items! Do a little research in your area and add these incentives to the child’s program. Here are some I have come across:
Programs for preschool, kids, teens, and adults. . On the site there are great book ideas for all the specific ages. You can even track your reading online and qualify for prizes. At the preschool if the child reads 20 books, then qualify to win a book (along with smaller prizes at each 5 books level).
Download their “Passport to Summer Reading”, read 8 books of your choice and get to choose a free one from their list. The prize books appear to be focused from grades 1-6, but could be set aside for younger children. You can also download an Educator kit!
You can also participate in the “Double Bog Dare You” reading program for all children 12 and under. Read 10 books, fill in the form and get a free book!
Check out some awesome resources from their May 18 post: Summer Reading for All Ages! Including: Tackling School Reading Lists, Summer Reading Lists by Grade, Top 10 Summer, Reading Lists, Recommended Reading Lists by Age, and more! Also, check back next week as they have more to share about Summer reading!
3. Keep Progress in Sight
Create some sort of visual aid to your plan to encourage daily excitement and success. This could be a simple sticker on a calendar. Some other ideas:
- Poster with a Candy Land type road that the child could move their picture along to show progress.
- Link chain where each day the child gets to cut off a ring.
- Cut out card stock books that they can count themselves and keep track of their progress.
The possibilities are endless. Once they get to the end there is something to celebrate!
2. Get Others Involved
Reading is valuable to everyone. Why not join the fun and you chart your daily reading as well. If the children are old enough to read alone, take that time to sit with a book yourself as an example. It is unlikely that young children who keep us BUSY will see us sit down and read in front of them, but we can talk about our love for read, our favorite books, and what we are reading about. Encourage family members to play along and track their progress as well. This will encourage a love for reading! Monkey see, monkey do.
1. Celebrate
Choose something to commemorate this achievement for the child. This could be as simple as a special activity or treat. In Cincinnati, most of our Nannies work with preschool and elementary aged children. We decided to do an Ice Cream Party as a Nanny Community, called “Hot Reads, Cool Treats”. After the the month of July we will meet a local restaurant on their outside, fenced patio with a quick stop for bright balloons (information will be emailed to all our local Nannies and posted on our private forum)! This is relatively inexpensive and fun. We will share our success with each other. Each talking child can say their name and favorite book with the group… to which we all can clap and cheer (as we eat ice cream)! Make a day of it and go to the participating bookstores to pick up your prizes!
Children are impressionable, let’s all take the time to turn off the technology and pick up a book.
Happy Reading!
