5 reasons to carry on reading with your child in the school holidays – Mummascribbles

It can be so easy to completely down tools in the Summer holidays when it comes to the kids learning. It is their time isn’t it? They don’t need to focus on their reading and their writing and their maths. And it is our time as well. Our time to make the days and weeks as fun for them as possible. We don’t want to be hassling them like we have to hassle them on school days. But in reality, it is so important to try and keep up some of their learning, especially reading. Here are 5 reasons to carry on reading with your child in the school holidays.

To help the teachers

Yep. I have spoken to enough teachers (including my Sister) who say that they can clearly see those children who have kept up their reading throughout the Summer holidays – especially the ones who have moved from Reception to Year 1. In reception, they have only just learnt the majority of their phonics, they are only just really starting to read sentences and paragraphs. If this all dwindles off in the Summer holidays, they tend to have to re-learn it all over again. Yes it will come to them quicker, but it won’t be like that continuation from day to day recognition. I don’t think it is necessary to force them into reading time like we so often have to do after school – but when you are reading to them at night or in the day, ask them to read words and sentences to you. It doesn’t need to be the whole book, just little snippets to keep their brain active and reading things they can clearly read. 

To help themselves

Just like it is helping the teachers, they are also helping themselves by continuing their reading through the holidays. Instead of having to go back and pick up where they left off however many weeks earlier (I have noticed that most Summer holidays are no longer just six weeks), they will be either where they were or even further ahead than when they left. This will be a huge benefit to them as there will be no catching up needed and they can continue learning as they were in the previous year group. 

To increase/keep their love of reading

I know that this one is important for me, and I bet it is for many other parents too. I love reading. My other half loves reading. I want my boys to have a love of reading too. Books are a wonderful place to lose yourself. To take time out. To enter a place where it is completely unknown. To explore worlds that don’t exist. To bring to life the places and the characters. To imagine everything however you want to imagine them (I had real problems with watching the Harry Potter films because having read all of the books, the actors were nothing like I had imagined them in my head). So to keep on reading, a little every day, is super important. Whether it’s them reading to you, you reading to them, or them reading to themselves – keep encouraging them to sit down with books each day throughout the holidays.

To keep them in the habit

When they return to school, they will be back onto their usual reading at home programmes. They will be bringing their new reading books home and it will be back down to us to get them to sit down and read their books – whether it is to themselves or aloud to us. If you carry on reading with your child in the school holidays, you will be keeping them in the habit that they have from school and it won’t be such a shock to the system – or such a battle – when they finally return to school. When we get out of habits it can be hard to get back into them again. This way, we don’t have that struggle ahead of us! 

To give you a break

I mean reading is quiet time isn’t it? Especially if they can do it all by themselves! And even if you are having to sit down with them – you are sitting down. You can make yourself a cuppa and spend ten minutes, twenty minutes, sitting down. Heck,  if your kids are like my Oscar, you’ll be at it for an hour! But it means that you are sitting down. They are sitting down. You are all having a rest and a break. Which in the long drawn out Summer holidays, can be a much needed thing! 

So there you go. There are your five reasons to carry on reading with your child in the school holidays. Everybody benefits in one way or the other, but most of all – your child. We all know how important being able to read is in life, so use this time to help them develop these skills that they will need forever. 

If you have a bit of a reluctant reader then I would pop down to your local library and get them signed up to the Summer reading challenge. They have to read six books throughout the course of the holidays, pop into the library to discuss what they have read, and they will receive stickers to help them complete their mission folder along the way. They can win prizes, do extra cool stuff, and it really keeps them interested in reading. At the end of the challenge, if all has been completed, then they get invited along to their library for a presentation of a certificate and medal, and there may be an extra special prize involved too. It is completely free and we do it every year. Even Oscar is signed up this year because he’d get FOMO otherwise! 

Happy reading! 

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