Literacy Tips for Summer

Thoughts & Reflections

We sat down with Ms. Wood to discuss some fun ideas to implement literacy over the Summer. Here’s some of what we came up with:

• Library: Go to the library! A lot! “The library is like a candy store where you can sample everything,” says Ms. Wood. The library is also a great opportunity to foster and encourage responsibility. “For your young child – they could keep the receipt and put it somewhere safe, the fridge perhaps, to make sure all the checked-out books make it back to the library.” The public library also has a summer reading program that might be fun for your child to participate in, learning about new authors and other illustrators.
• Grocery Store: The summer provides excellent opportunities for daily adventures. For instance, your young writer can help compose the grocery list, and their emerging reading skills can be engaged at the end of the trip to ensure that you got everything on the list. Did we get bananas? Check. How about the orange juice?
• On the Road: Play road games. As families set out on road trips over the summer, there are a number of practical, engaging ways to implement literacy. For instance, you can see which letters your child can identify in license plates, or what states they can read, or, perhaps you can read some bumper stickers together. Be careful on this one!
• Play rhyming games. So, you’re headed down the road, and you’re looking for something productive to do, to help keep your children occupied. Perhaps you would like to see how many words you can think of that rhyme with a certain word. Start with something easy, like bee or light. For an added challenge, your child can write them down and keep lists.

Hope you enjoy some of these suggestions. We’re sure you have others, and we’d love to hear what works for you!