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Four Steps to Create Your Own Summer Reading Program at Home

Parents play a vital role in their child's reading success. By helping to instill reading habits in the early childhood years, parents can build a strong reading foundation that their child will take with them into the early elementary school years and beyond.

This is of the utmost importance, because schools have long recognized that third grade reading proficiency is imperative for for success in later grades. In a recent NC Read to Achieve* flyer to parents of elementary-aged children, NC Superintendent of Public Instruction Mark Johnson emphasized that all school subjects require strong reading skills, and that these skills must be practice both at school and at home.

The Summer Challenge: Using Reward Charts to Build Reading Habits

The summer provides an opportune time for parents to work on building reading habits at home for their school-aged children. Because reading levels can decline for some students over the summer months, many libraries offer summer reading programs to encourage children to continue reading during the months when they are not in school. Kenson Kids can help too.

Our reward charts provide structure as well as a visual reminder which is helpful in forming habits. To help parents incentivize and reward reading at home, Kenson Kids encourages parents to use kids reward charts to encourage daily reading and make it part of their child's daily routine this summer. 

To build strong reading habits using the "I Can Do It!" Token Board, follow these steps:

1. Write your child's name in the space provided on the "I Can Do It!" Token Board and place it where it will be seen often.

2. Set a measurable goal with your child, such as "Read 5 Books" or "Read 20 Minutes a Day." If using the Caterpillar Token Board, write your child's goal with a dry erase marker in the "Working On" square on the Token Board.

3. With your child, choose the reward that they're working toward and write the reward with a dry erase marker in the appropriate square on the Token Board. (i.e., the "Working For" square on the Caterpillar Token Board or the "I'm working for" square in the Star Token Board).

**Rewards don't have to be expensive or tangible. We love the idea of using family experiences as the reward! Stay tuned for a future blog post on this topic.

4. Reward your child with a star on the reward chart each day when he/she completes his/her goal. At the end of the week or when 5 stars are earned, reward your child with the incentive they have chosen. 

A strong reading foundation is built by reading early and often! Stay tuned to our blog and follow us on social media for more tips to get your child on the right track for reading success. 

*Read to Achieve is a state legislative initiative which launched in North Carolina in 2013. The law entitles third grade students who are not reading at grade level to receive additional reading interventions, including free summer reading camps, to help promote reading success in later grades.

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