NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665

June 1, 2000

Summer Reading Helps Avoid Learning Lapses

Many parents, teachers and others who provide care to children wonder each year whether the summer months will halt a child's scholastic progress, or worse. Some fear that lapses may negatively affect the lessons learned during the school year and may result in a child's losing ground during the months-long vacation period.

While those concerns are valid, there is an effective solution for helping prevent such a regression, says a family science educator at North Dakota State University. The solution? Establishing a consistent summer reading program.

"Summer is actually a terrific time to pursue a reading program with children," says Sean Brotherson, extension family science specialist at NDSU. "With fewer school-related activities during the summer months, parents and children both typically have more time available for reading."

Not only will reading provide an enjoyable activity for parents and children, reading is a foundation skill in learning, Brotherson stresses. Whether children develop an interest in reading will likely depend on what material is available to them.

Reading programs centered on a child's interests have a much greater chance for success, Brotherson says. He offers the following tips for establishing summer reading programs:

• Make sure each child in the family has a library card, and set a regular time to visit a public library every one to two weeks.
• Find out what type of reading opportunities and programs are available through public libraries, and take advantage of these offerings.
• Seek out books and reading opportunities that are wide ranging but focus on a child's specific interests. Books on subjects dealing with astronauts to those dealing with zebras may be on this summer's wish list. In short, allow children the chance to use reading to explore what interests them.
• Adults who provide care to children should create regular times when they read to children, perhaps a half-hour a day. Reading from a popular book series is one way to interact and engage young minds. Consult a librarian or bookstore staff to choose age-appropriate reading material and to find out more about currently popular book series. Besides books, adults can also read from children's magazines and other similar materials.
• Shut off the TV. Encourage children to take some time every day to read, and then spend time asking them about what they've read and what they've learned.

###

Source: Sean Brotherson (701) 231-6134
Editor: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136