Summer is finally here and there’s so much to do! We have a lot planned including visiting parks, lots of time in our backyard and playdates with friends. While I think it’s so important to have a FUN summer, it’s also important not to succumb to the “Summer Slide”. During the school year, my son is reading in school and we read nightly but during the summer when our routines change, so can our learning habits – I’m totally guilty of this!
Learning or reading skill losses during the summer months are cumulative. Did you know that by the time a struggling reader reaches middle school, summer reading loss has accumulated to a two-year lag in reading achievement? That’s why it’s SO important to make sure your kids are reading this summer. Thanks to Scholastic, they are making it fun for kids and parents with the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge!
Scholastic’s Summer Reading Challenge is now in it’s 8th year and they are dedicated to stopping that “Summer Slide” kids can get. The program encourages kids to read during the summer months by providing fun weekly challenges and the chance to earn digital rewards.
This year’s Summer Reading Challenge theme is “Reading Under the Stars” and is powered by Eveready®. Throughout the summer, kids will read around the galaxy and unlock star constellations as they log reading minutes.
I am so excited about this summer’s theme and am already planning a fun “Reading Under the Stars” party with my son and some of his friends. We’ll set up tents and sleeping bags in our backyard while we enjoy popcorn and s’mores while we read some of our favorite books!
Scholastic Summer Reading Program Details
The Scholastic Summer Reading Program is a fun program that both kids and parents can bond together over.
Kids
– Kids can log their reading minutes online and unlock fun facts about the constellations. They can also take reading quizzes and word challenges to earn virtual prizes in addition to a monthly sweepstakes!
– My son loved checking out the new book lists to discover new books to read. There’s even a “Reading Under the Stars” themed list with books about space, stars, astronomy, camping, wilderness, and spooky stories to read by a campfire.
Parents
– Parents can keep track of their kid’s reading progress online and access free Summer Reading Challenge Participation Guides for book lists, resources from experts, activity sheets and more!
– Check out the Facebook Calendar app where each day, you’ll discover a new reading tip or the chance to win a book!
In 2013, Scholastic inspired more than 130,000 kids from 4,200 schools in all 50 states and 31 countries to set a new record for summer reading of 176 million-plus minutes!
Are you a teacher? Check out the Scholastic Summer Reading Program for more resources, book lists and school prizes!
Scholastic Summer Reading Timer App
Do you have a kid that wants to know if they can top reading yet and head out to play? Download the Scholastic Summer Reading App!
The Scholastic Reading Timer app encourages reading every day and most importantly, makes it fun! The app allows users to time reading minutes with an interactive stopwatch and track minutes on a weekly log. Plus, parents can check children’s reading activity in addition to browsing daily tips, articles and book lists.
Top Ten Tips to Get Kids Reading this Summer
Stay Connected
– Like Scholastic Parents on Facebook
– Follow Scholastic on Twitter – On Mondays, follow the hashtag #MondayMinutes to see how many minutes kids have read to date!
– Follow Scholastic on Instagram
– Follow the Summer Reading Challenge Pinterest Board – Each Friday there will be a new collage of summer books!
– Like the Summer Reading Challenge YouTube Playlist
How do you get your kids reading over the summer?
Disclosure: I was compensated for the above post but all thoughts and opinions are my own. Reading + Kids is a passion of mine and I love what Scholastic does to encourage it.
We still try and keep our kids learning over the summer in anyway we can.of course they have to have lots of fun too 🙂
Around here, all kids have required summer reading, so as long as my kids do that – I am happy!
This is a great program. Love that rewards are given for the kids.
I remember during the summer when I was a kid, I would forget everything I learned. This is such a great way to keep everything fresh.
My kids are required to read 15 minutes a day every day, but during the summer we also do a reading program and they read much more. They love to read.
I heard about this program last week and have been meaning to look more into it. My daughter is tarting Kindergarten after the Summer and I wondered if they included her age group in this. I would love to encourager her and get her started early!
i heard about this program. This is the kids last day of school, tomorrow we head to the library
What great tips! We need to be more diligent about challenging our girls to read this summer!
I have always been lucky in the fact my kids LOVE to read! I will definitely check this out, they would love it!
I love taking my kids to the library to see if there any books to pick up and enjoy. And since I am frugal, I also go to Half Price Books and pick up a few there as well.
Luckily they love to read but I find their math skills is what really lags behind, we assign mini homework math assignments here.
I love the reading tips! I need to stay on top of my son this summer so we can be ready for Kindergarten!
I need to sign up for this. We also use Scholastic workbooks to work on reading skills during the summer.
Luckily, I don’t have to force mine to read. He will pick up a pick ANY time and be completely content. I’ll have to look into this challenge though!
This is great! I can remember doing summer reading challenges as a kid and loving it.
I remember this from when I was in school. It is a great program.
What a great program! This summer we are working on the basics of reading before Kindergarden starts in the fall!
Great tips! My son is an avid readers so I made sure he is well stocked with his favorite book series books and then have him read aloud to me every day. Bonus is the younger siblings have storytime courtesy of their big brother.
My kids are doing a ton of reading this summer. Of course, as teens, their stacks of books are VERY tall!
My kids used to love to curl up next to me when I was reading and read too. It was just nice being together!
I just signed up for this! I actually just wrote a guest post about having “book nights”. I love your camping idea!!! Fantastic post! Thanks for sharing!!!!
My kids have been begging for me to sign them up for a summer reading program (strange to some, but our kids love to read), this looks great!
I try to keep my son reading as much as possible during the summer. I love that they have this program.
My girls are TOTAL bookworms! They would love this!
Love it! We love Scholastic – already been to the library twice since summer began last week! 🙂
As a teacher, I LOVE this! What great motivation for kids to read!
We visit the library regularly. 🙂
We loved the Scholastic Challenge in the summer when my kids were younger. Reading is always a very good thing.
We have daily Summer Learning we do every day. My little man is fully motivated and ready to learn every single day. No arm twisting required 🙂
I love reading challenges and have participated in a ton of them over the years. They really inspire me to read and they are really fun, too.
I like that they can log their reading time. That’s important and fun for seeing how much progress they’ve made. 🙂
My boys are still little, so we don’t have a summer break to worry about right now. Reading every day is just the norm. Growing up, we were all total bookworms, so the summer reading program at the library was icing on the cake for us!
We’re a little young for this challenge, but I love it! We’re doing our library’s reading challenge and recording what books we read to him.
Thanks for the information about the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge. I have to get my nieces and nephew to participate.
We make C read an hour every day, even during the summer
Oh this is great! I need to make sure my daughter keeps reading because she is a candidate to slide. My son never was because he has always been a voracious reader.
This is a great program. It’s great that there is an incentive to read as well.
I signed up my kids for this program too. I am eager to see what they get with their points. My oldest is excited that some of his favorite authors are included as a big part of the program.
My toddler loves books. I’m trying to read to him every day!
The Scholastic Summer Reading Program is such a great idea. Reading is so important and helps kids in so many ways.
We’re such a huge fan of Scholastic and they make some of our favorite books. This is a great challenge and one we will definitely be taking advantage of.
Ahh…the dreaded summer slide. It is amazing how much kids will forget over a couple of months if you don’t continue to engage their minds. This is a cool challenge and would be great for just about any child.
These are some great tips. I know I’m going to have to force the kids to read this summer.
No kids. I’d take them to the library every week to check out new books (and DVDs).
I love this summer reading program! I remember doing a similar program growing up and it kept me interested in reading all summer, can’t wait to share this with my boys!
It is an important part of school year success to keep children reading during the summer. I always make sure to keep my children up to date with reading and work during the summer.
My son just really started learning to read in the last two months or so, so I’m definitely worried that he’ll forget before he starts kindergarten in the fall. We’ll be working hard to keep him reading- but having fun too, of course!
My Oldest son loves to read. My second son needs a little push. I am sure this app would come in handy for the 2nd. I especially like it when they read outdoors.
what a great program. i know a nephew of mine who would love this and probably read as many books as he could the entire summer break.
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