Summer Reading

What comes to mind when you hear the words “summer reading?” Is it excitement, dread, fun, or anxiety? Whatever you might feel, check out this week’s blog post about how to make summer reading easy and fun for your family!

 

Keeping your child’s brain active during the summertime can seem like a daunting task. Studies have shown that reading over the summer is a simple and fun solution! 

A summer Family Reading Experience can keep your child’s mind active and actually have an impact on spiritual formation as well as. How does it work?

Family Reading Experience

Family Reading Experiences enhance relationships by creating space for great conversations.

A common reading experience can teach kids to build relationships through conversation. Do our kids see us as people who are open to their ideas and questions? How do we react when they disagree with us? How do we deal with things we don’t understand? Reading books together can open up fun conversations which can make spiritual conversations more natural and less intimidating. 

Family Reading Experiences grow our imagination. 

In his book, Recapturing Wonder, author and journalist Mike Cosper comments that growing our imagination as Christians is imperative to growing our faith and being able to enter whole-heartedly into the Biblical narrative. When we allow ourselves to wonder and marvel at acts outside of our natural world, it allows us to see God’s own work, which is often supernatural, as the awe-inspiring act it is. Good books stretch our imagination, allowing us to place ourselves in a world we aren’t a part of and be enchanted by a story or idea that moves our spirits. We want our kids  to long for God’s perfect kingdom on Earth as we exist within the imperfection version of it. 

Here are a few ideas you might try this summer to build relationships with reading. 

• Evening Read Aloud - Kids of all ages can benefit from hearing an experienced reader bring a book to life. Choose a book that’s a bit higher than what your kids could access on their own and read a chapter aloud at night before bed. A great way to get kids invested in this is to choose a book that you can watch the movie of at the end! If you don’t have a regular practice of reading aloud this can take a bit of time to get used to, but it totally pays off in the end. Gather puzzles, coloring, legos or other activities to keep hands busy while they listen. If you aren’t keen on being the reader, audiobooks count, too! 
• Family book club - Create a regular rhythm in your summer to chat about what you’re reading. Maybe it’s a popsicle by the pool on Fridays, a walk in the cool night air, or over breakfast in the morning; but spend some time checking in with your kids about what they’re reading. Do they like the book? What is happening? Were they surprised by anything? What do they expect might happen next? This can take as little as 10 minutes, and encourage your kids to ask you questions, too! 
• Quiet reading time - With looser schedules in the summertime we can all use a break before the entire day gets away from us. Choose a spot of time that works best for your family to stop and read (grown ups, too!). This might be after camp, after the pool, in the midmorning when patience is running thin – any 15-20 minute chunk of time that works for your family. Remember, for reluctant or non-readers, audiobooks are your friend! 

Reading matters! But what kind of books you read also matters. 

Here are a couple of resources that have book lists as well as fun ideas for getting your family reading throughout the summer. 

Read Aloud Revival - If you aren’t sure what your kids like to read (or more likely they don’t even know what they like) Read Aloud Revival has endless booklists for any category, from books for boys 8-12, to graphic novels, to kids who like science fiction and beyond. While Read Aloud Revival is a homeschool focused company, the books lists are amazing for anyone, and are hard to rival!

Everyday Reading - Have kids who love a challenge? This is a great reading checklist from former children's librarian, Janssen, that pushes kids to explore a variety of genres and writing styles. It is also a great way to get involved in the books your kids choose, learn the type of books your kids like, and even encourage them to seek recommendations for certain categories from the library. Pair this with a prize of your choosing for completing it (ice cream for dinner or a family movie night, for example) as an added incentive! 

CMLibrary - This is another fun challenge to get the whole family involved. Adults and kids alike can track their summer reading minutes and earn prizes along the way, including frozen treats, Carowinds tickets, and this year, Charlotte FC tickets! And if you aren’t local to Charlotte, check out what challenges or evens that your local library might offer. It's a great way to get to know the librarian at your branch and cultivate reading as a part of your family lifestyle and culture.

We hope that this encourages you to enjoy a summer of stories, conversations and family times around a book!

 

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