Find a book series you can sink your teeth into

During the summer, we often think about taking a vacation from school and learning. But this attitude could actually be doing more harm than good for children. On average, kids lose about two months of reading skills.

This statistic might be concerning for parents, so if you want to help your children retain or even improve their reading skills over the summer, there are many things you can do to help them to continue learning in a fun and inventive way!

This month, the Washington Public Library is hosting a summer reading program for children and teens. These programs are so important for kids to participate in during their summer break, and it’s fun as well! The children’s summer reading (K-2) program kicked off on Monday, June 7. The Teen Zone summer reading program will begin the same day at 1 p.m. These events are going to be a lot of fun and a great way to keep your child’s reading skills up during the summer.

One great way to get kids interested in reading is by getting them interested in a series of books. This drives them to want to read the next book because they will want to know what is going to happen next. Some popular children’s series at our library are: Moody Judy, The Magic Treehouse, Harry Potter, American Girl, Series of Unfortunate Events, and A-Z Mysteries books. These are all found on our online catalogue, so you can place reserves or just come on in and check them out.

There are so many ways to include reading in your summer plans. First, you can make a weekly trip to the library with your children which will encourage them to keep reading and building their vocabulary and reading skills. Another thing you can do is go outside and into nature with a good book in hand.

Kids can sit on a blanket or in a tree house while they read, or you can read a book aloud to make it a story time for the whole family. This will not only make reading fun, but it can be a family bonding time for everyone. Finally, if it happens to be raining, you can always head inside, make some snacks and settle down to read. This will create a cozy and inviting environment in which to really enjoy reading.

The benefits of reading are endless and important for all ages. Reading not only improves your vocabulary and reading skills, but allows the imagination to escape to endless possibilities. Reading doesn’t have to become simply a task that needs to be crossed off a list. Reading should become a habit that helps you to escape or to see life from a different point of view.