Mommy!!! Daddy!!!!! I Forgot How To Read!

Imagine going on vacation and coming home to find that you can't read. You heard right. You're away for a couple of days or weeks and you return to find that the street signs are incomprehensible, the writing on the food packages at the supermarket are incoherent, the covers of your favorit DVDs look like squiggles. Something like this? oeirlk jakfjor ieiflj uyejkdjdlk mnbvcgfhu!

Scary? Frustrating? Annoying? Infuriating? Upsetting? Sounds about right.

The above might sound extreme but that's exactly what it can feel like to young children and beginning readers. I've seen it happen after winter breaks and summer vacations. The children aren't yet comfortable with their reading, they go away and don't do any reading for a while and there you go. Gone with the wind at the beach! Reading skills lost along with the pasty white skin of winter.

Now imagine what it's like to have to learn it all over again. It's hard. It can be boring. It's frustrating. It's "agaaaaaaiiiiiiiinnnnnnn???????? but I just did that last year in school, why do I have to do it agaiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnn?????"

The other negative aspect of this situation is that reading becomes READING. Reading becomes AN ASSIGNMENT. Reading becomes something to PRACTICE,LEARN and (horrors!!!) STUDY, instead of something organic, fun, entertaining, exciting, a doorway to the unknown, an adventure, a journey and all the other fun things that reading can be.

Quick Start Coaching Tips to keep children reading all summer;

* Keep lots of books about topics they love around the house.
* Read to them. It can be for a few minutes a day or as long as you both like.
* Read with them. Model reading at the same time that they are, and let them
"catch" you reading.
* Get them books that relate to their lives or other media that they're consuming.
* Find reading activities online.
* Have them keep a summer journal. Pictures, words, stories, whatever.
* Incorporate reading skills into daily life activities (more details on this
in another post) such as matching food labels at the supermarket, matching names
of thruways/highways/towns on car trips, making shopping lists, clothing lists,
laundry supplies, swimming supplies, barbecue supplies etc. etc.
* Use baking, cooking or art activities as activities. Follow a recipe, gather art
supplies etc.

Any time children are using the written word in some form and can comprehend how they're using it they're practicing reading. Give them the gift of being independent in their pursuit of information, entertainment, new worlds and knowledge. Give them the gift of loving to read.

Enjoy the day your way,
Rebecca (Kiki)
*************************************
Daily Life Consulting
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For more information on individual or group coaching, seminars, workshops or materials for your group, school or institution please call at 646.468.0608 or email at coach at dailylifeconsulting dot com.