Summer Reading In a Box
Randi from Swoon is with us today to share a lovely summer reading kit for the blossoming young readers in our lives.
Summer is right around the corner and it’s time to think of creative ways to maintain and build on everything our children have learned in this last year throughout the long break. If you’re like me and your children attend school outside of the home, now is a good time to ask teachers for guidance and hints about ways to work with your child as they spend more time at home.
We have a new reader in our house who needs lots of practice and opportunities to grow the skills she’s already mastered. I want her to feel confident as she steps into the next school year, and I know that practice is the key. As a starting point, I’ve put together a little box filled with activities we can do together several times a week.
So, what’s in the box?
A stack of new readers and a fun bookmark. We will also be joining the summer reading program at the local library, and possibly purchasing more of these simple books as we go.
A homemade phonics game. I came across this lovely idea over on the Playdough to Plato blog. Using paper and stickers, we transformed two blocks we had on hand into a fun game about word families. Roll the dice and sound out the word. The first one to make 10 real words wins! Go here for complete instructions.
A homemade phonetic flip chart. This flip chart is all about sounding out words. Simply take a notebook and cut the pages into three equal sections. Write the consonants in the first section, as well as some common blends found at the beginning of words. Vowels go in the middle section, and consonants and common blends found at the end of words in the last section. Find complete instructions over at Kids Activities Blog.
As the summer progresses, I hope to add more things to the box and change activities as needed. I LOVE the idea of giving something like this as a gift to a new reader in your life. The contents of the box could easily be modified for a child who is in the pre-reading stages, or to fit the needs of a more advanced reader as well. The idea is to create a pretty and functional spot that has everything needed to inspire little ones to read.
