Stop the Summer Reading Slide

Updated: Jun 15, 2019

Written by: Natalie Fuertes

School’s almost out for summer! It’s time for sleeping in (yeah, right), days at the beach, and your kids asking for an endless amount of snacks. And while I’m a huge proponent of kids taking a break from the rigors of school and getting a chance to just play outside, the early childhood educator in me slowly seeps in and I can’t help but worry about the dreaded Summer Slide.

What is the Summer Slide?

It’s a decline in reading ability and other academic skills that occurs over the summer months when school is not in session. Studies show that students can lose two to three months of academic progress if they don’t read over the summer.

It has a significant impact on low-income students who may have more difficulty bouncing back during the school year and it's a contributing factor to the a chievement gap - widening the gap in academic achievement among children from different socioeconomic levels, well into middle school and high school. By the end of fifth grade, the Summer Slide results in as much as a two year gap in reading ability between children who read enough during the summer and those who don’t.

How to Prevent it?

Children who read four or more age-appropriate books over the summer maintain their reading level and children who read 10-20 books over the summer are shown to actually improve their reading skills.

But how do you make reading fun over the summer, so that it doesn't seem like a chore or more homework? First step, throw the reading log away and show them all the fun that's in the pages of a good book.

Here's some great tips to put the joy back into summer reading:

This article from Motherly has some great, simple tips on how to make one in your home.

It’s a great chance for friends to chat with each other about a book they’ve recently read. Let them come up with an activity to go with the theme of the book - for example, you can set up a taco bar after they’ve read Drago ns Love Tacos.

At home, we like to take a family vote and pick a chapter book. Then we’ll take turns reading a chapter out loud each night.

Head to your local bookstore, public library, or (shameless plug) our Book Fair with Astoria Bookshop at LIC Kids Gymnastics next Monday and Wednesday. Nearly 90% of kids say their favorite books are ones they have picked out themselves. So take them on a little shopping trip to pick out some new books for your home library!

Happy (summer) reading!

Need some suggestions for your home library? Here’s some great books for every level:

Board Books: