Students look forward all year to the last day of school. With school out for the summer, they can finally play in the sun, relax with their friends, attend summer camp, and most of all, enjoy their evenings homework-free! Summer, however, can also be a good time for children to catch up on some reading or math skills, especially for those who have struggled during the year. Many parents and teachers are concerned that if students do not read during the summer, they will experience reading and learning losses, known as the “summer slide.” During the summer months, students do not have as much access to books and literacy tools which are essential for maintaining and increasing reading fluency and vocabulary.

Trying to get kids to read during the summer is never an easy task for parents. How can we motivate and convince them that reading can, in fact, be fun and exciting?  If your child only reads when he/she absolutely has to, there may be a reason why. There are easy fixes, such as going to the local library, downloading books, and playing reading games online, but for struggling readers or those with reading disabilities, reading instruction targeting their specific learning needs may be the answer. Summer is an ideal time to improve reading skills because the competing demands of homework are absent.  A “summer slide” is most likely to occur among struggling readers. Without extra practice or skill-building over the summer, these students may not be able to keep up once they return to school.

Strategic Learning Centre offers many different reading and language programs during the summer months. Whether you want your child to merely practice their reading skills or catch up on various skills that underlie reading such as phonemic awareness, vocabulary, oral language, and spelling, we can help. If your child has been struggling this year, we can pinpoint the root of the reading problem.  Let’s make summer reading fun!