The Big Summer Reading Post

Summer reading season is here! To help you plan ahead and avoid stress around summer assignments, I've compiled a lot of resources in this blog post. Read on to get the full scoop.

How to choose a good book

In my blog post "Keep Your Reading Schedule Booked," I list a number of resources to help families find great reads. I've shared five websites for book recommendations, which range from lists of awards winners, to librarians' favorites, to social media suggestions.

You may also want to consider a subscription book box. This NPR article lists four different book subscription services and describes their offerings.

How to get your child to sit down and read

Making reading a habit can be tough, particularly when one must compete with screens for a child's attention. So what works to get children to settle down with a book at home? Are incentives worthwhile? Check out this advice from Daniel Willingham, author of Kids Who Read. You may also be interested in "4 Steps to Foster a Love of Reading." This short article is written with teachers as the intended audience, but it also contains useful advice for parents.

What to do when reading itself is difficult

Some children who are not strong or independent readers can find the activity discouraging. There is a lot parents can do to help in these situations, even without training in the pedagogy of reading. I highly recommend the All Kinds of Minds website, a resource created by experts in the psychology of learning. Here is their list of strategies you can use to support decoding, comprehension, attention, and retention when your child reads.

Audiobooks are another useful tool for young readers. Rather than replace print texts, they support the process of learning to read independently. I wrote more about how audio books help and listed a number of places where parents can find them, both for free and for a fee. Have a look at this blog post for more information.

Make sure the work gets done

Last-minute scrambles to complete school work often feel as stressful for parents as they do for students. I wrote a blog post about strategies teachers and tutors use to make sure that students get work done on time. Follow these five pointers to avoid late-summer panic.

Happy reading!