Summer Reading! A Message from Mrs. Rossman, Reading Specialist

As our 2018-2019 school year winds down and students and teachers start to relax, it’s time for parents to gear up for summer! For many of us, our first thoughts are about the pool, camps or family trips. As the children step into their bathing suits and get ready for fun, be sure tuck a great book into your pool bag. A great book is entertaining and/or informative and a great protection against summer slide.

Summer slide is what happens when a child leaves the school year reading at one level and returns several levels below. Our brains are a muscle and they need a workout to stay strong. So, whether students are reading easy books or challenge books, comics, graphic novels or a series of books, encourage them to keep going! Any reading is real reading – even if there are pictures involved! Keep it engaging and fun and your kids will want to keep reading!

What can you do as parents to help?

Visit FHES staff at our summer bookmobile June 25^th, July 9^th, July 23^rd, Aug 6^th from 10:30-11:30 at Idlywood Village West at the corner of Los Pueblos and Pimmit Run Streets in Falls Church
Visit the library or a bookstore and encourage them to pick a book they’ll enjoy
- Participate in a summer reading log program (see below for more information)
Let your children read whatever age-appropriate books they want
Offer to read part (or all!) of a book with them or to them – we’re never too old to listen to a read aloud
Read the book then watch the movie https://youthlitreviews.com/2013/05/27/50-great-movies-based-childrens-books-plus-15-movies-for-teens/
Encourage your child to start a bookclub with a few friends
Listen to a great audiobook during a family road trip. There are lots of adventure stories out there that will interest the whole family! https://www.rd.com/culture/family-audiobooks/
Most importantly, talk to your children about what’s happening and what it means, what kinds of characters they are seeing and what kinds of people they are or what they’re learning from their books and how that fits in with what they know

Here are some more great ideas:

Fairfax County Public Library’s summer reading program:

https://research.fairfaxcounty.gov/summer-reading

Finish reading the required number of books by August 31 and go to a library branch to pick up your coupon book which has a variety of free prizes and discounts.