The Joy of Summer Reading

by RSBSADMIN | Aug 9, 2016 12:12:11 PM

mother and daughter reading togetherI love summer for SO many reasons, but maybe the best part of summer for my kids and I is SUMMER READING! What does summer reading look like and how is it more magical than the reading my kids do during the school year?  Take a peak at what summer reading looks like in the Collinge house! 

1. We take books with us.

Reading a book in summer by the poolIn the Collinge house, we take advantage of sunny summer days by taking read
ing outside!  When we go to the pool or the park, we bring our books.  Usually I am the one reading next to the pool or the swings (my own little slice of heaven), but when my kids get all tuckered out from the hot sun, they curl up on a towel or blanket and read.
 

2. We listen to books in the car.

Audiobooks are not cheatingAudio books are so perfect for summer when you find yourself in the car a lot—either taking a long road trip to the beach, or many trips back and forth to Kamp Kookamunga.  We love listening to audio books in the car.  Our favorite one is still The Twits by Roald Dahl.

 

 

 

3. We forget about bedtime and stay up late reading.

In the summer, bedtime reading can Late night reading in bedstretch a little longer than during the school year when my daughter has to get up early for cello practice.   I figure as long as my kids are reading a book, they can stay up as late as they want.  Typically they will each get about 20-30 minutes of reading in before their eyes can no longer stay open, but sometimes my oldest daughter, Hannah (10), will stay up past 11:00pm reading Harry Potter.  (My husband and I are guilty of the late night reading too!)

4. We make more trips to the library.

The library is great all year round, but there is something wonderful about the library in the summer.  From the summer reading contests to the special events, there is always something exciting happening at the library!  This summer my daughter found the cookbook section and it has led to some spontaneous cooking lessons.

Little girl reading a cookbook and eating a bowl of pasta5

Hannah gets a thumbs-up from her sister, Sadie, after a library-book-inspired cooking lesson!

Father and daughter reading books together on the plane5. We ALL get in on the action!

Maybe the best part about summer reading is that everyone in the family can get in on the action!  And as it turns out, collaboration or reading within a community is the greatest motivator of life-long reading.

While summer is such a joy-filled time for reading, that joy doesn’t have to end when the kids go back to school.  How might you help kids carry these experiences into the school year?  I plan to share some of my ideas in the next blog!Sarah Collinge, founder & president headshot

 

 

 

 



Written by Sarah Collinge

Founder & President

Read Side by Side Publications, LLC.

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