Summer Time Family Reading Challenge

 

 

A Break from the Typical Summer Break

For some people, summer time brings to mind images of the beach, swimming pools, and daytime camps to keep children routinely engaged, focused, and active.  During this time of year, many parents have to continue working as their children take a long break from the daily school routine.  Keeping children occupied in a constructive manner can be a challenge; it can be very tempting to rent a movie or just turn the television on.  This summer, we at the South Texas Literacy Coalition would like to challenge you to start a family reading night in your home.

Reading and Repetition Build Brain Power

Children learn in many different ways, and reading out loud to children helps to exercise the mind and develop neural pathways in the brain.  Language is learned through repetition and modeling, something that reading out to children helps accomplish.  Exposure to words, phrases, and concepts through books ensures that young minds realize that print media serves a vital purpose in daily life.  There is virtually nothing that we do in our daily life that doesn’t involve language; our level of language mastery determines how we are able to express ourselves. 

Another note on repetition:  Sometimes, parents can’t believe that their children want to continue hearing the same story over and over again.  This is how learning occurs!  If you begin to find a story boring or tiresome, remember how enthusiastic you were about your favorite stories as a child.  If your child must hear the same story every time you sit down, try introducing a new story into the mix; you may soon be re-reading several favorite stories!

Children Follow in Their Parents’ Footsteps

Taking a small amount of time once a week to dedicate to reading a story out loud and then sharing some quiet family time reading can bring a new dimension to the family dynamic.  According to Roger Desmond of the University of Hartford, children spend up to eight times the number of hours at home as he or she does at school.  He states that, “home as teacher is likely to be a stronger predictor of admiration for reading than is the school.”  Educating children begins at home, and children want to follow in their parents’ lead.

Conversational Literacy

Talking with your children opens the lines of communication and conversations help young minds to be able to grasp larger concepts. Literacy begins with parent-child interactions.  That means that “real world” language used with your children helps to start teaching them before school ever starts.  The language you and your child exchange with one another is helping them toward literacy later.  Take this a step further and discuss stories with your children.  Remember those stories your grandmother used to tell you?  Pass them on!  Continue talking about stories you read or tell aloud after you have closed the book.

Entertaining a New Idea

There was a time when reading was considered as enjoyable as sitting down to watch your favorite television show.  A New York Times blog called Media Decoder reported in May of 2012 that “in the last three months of 2011, the average American with a TV set at home spent 153 hours and 19 minutes watching ‘traditional TV’ — TV viewed on a set rather than a computer or a tablet.”  Spending thirty minutes to an hour reading with family 1-3 times a week no longer sounds like a strange request.  Even if you spent three hours per week reading as a family that would still only total 36 hours— 117 hours less than the average American spends watching TV!

Taking It One Step Further

There are many studies that demonstrate the stark contrast between children who grow up in a language-rich environment and those who don’t—but it’s never too late to get started.  Take a break from the summer break and make reading with your family part of your routine.  Tell stories, discuss characters, play “what if?” games and change the ending—whatever you do, have fun!  We look forward to hearing from you and how this is working with your family.

Interested in learning more about storytelling? Our next article will feature storytelling techniques and other tips to facilitate your Family Reading Night.