Need some summer reading books? How about games and activities? Here are some fun ways for children to keep up with their reading during summer.

Reading over the summer is a great way for kids to keep up with their reading skills, along with helping to build their vocabulary skills. This can be achieved through books, workbooks, and educational games.

Library Reading Program

Oftentimes the local libraries offer summer reading programs for kids. What’s great about these programs is that they generally involve some kind of incentive reward for kids who accomplish reading a certain amount of books. When helping a child to choose books to read, don’t necessarily be concerned if a book is below the child’s reading level. The important thing is that the child reads and enjoys what is being read.

Reading Comprehension Books

Reading comprehension books are a good way to monitor a child’s comprehension skills. A recommended series is Kelley Wingate’s Reading Comprehension and Skills. With different books for different grades in the elementary school level, these books offers stories to read, followed by questions for children to answer.

The books also offer vocabulary words which can double as spelling words. The reading is on a variety of topics which will keep it fresh for kids. This series can be found at Learning Express. If also planning on working on math skills over the summer, Kelly Wingate makes workbooks for this as well.

Kids Reading Games

Making reading fun is a great incentive that helps encourage children to read. Most kids love games and there are some wonderful ones available to help kids with their reading skills. A popular game for kids is Brain Quest. These sets of bound together cards offer children questions and answers on a variety of topics so not only do kids read, they learn a lot in the process. This game comes in different ranges starting with toddlers and going up to age thirteen. They are perfect for long car rides.

For kids who want to keep their reading skills fresh over the summer, some recommended games are:

• Learning Resources Get the Picture – Main Idea Reading Comprehension Game
• Parts of Speech Bingo
• Reading Roadway USA Game
• Wild World Adventure Game
• Language Detective Game
• Reading Riddles Maze Game

Improving Reading Skills

There are three basic ways kids can read. One is to read quietly to themselves. Another is to read aloud while the third way is to have someone read to them. Hearing the words read out loud helps a child’s comprehension. It is suggested to practice all three kinds of reading over the summer. Even older kids enjoy being read to at times as long as it’s about something that holds their interest.

Keep summer reading fun by making a variety of reading options available between books, workbooks, and games. Try to set aside some time everyday even if for only fifteen minutes. Building reading and comprehension skills will be a valuable tool for the following school year.

Janis Masyk-Jackson