June 1, 2025: Summer Joy

As the school year wraps up and summer vacation for students begins, I often have parents asking what they can do to keep their children challenged and growing over the summer.  “Summer Slide” is well-documented and most parents want to do what they can to minimize any of the negative effects of being away from the classroom for ten weeks.

         My advice is simple- recapture the joy of reading and writing!

         No reading lists, or logging hours.  No writing prompts or practice essays.  No workbooks or online skill practice.

         Simply put in place lots of opportunities for authentic chances to read and write for fun.  FUN.

         Some of my most vivid and happy summer memories are of spending hours in the library.  We lived in a small town, so our library was in an old house. The rooms on the main floor had all been wrapped in bookshelves and the center of each room held a table or two and chairs.  There was a sign prohibiting anyone from going upstairs, so I imagine that was where their offices were.

         The library was on the main street, a couple miles from our house, but my mom would let me ride my bike there, so I would often spend the day.  I loved the smell of the old house and the smell of books. And on really hot days, they had the central air conditioner on- which in New England, in the 70s, was a treat.

Some days I would read an entire book while I was there.  I was really into the Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden mysteries.  Other days I would check out a stack and ride home with them in the basket on my bike.  Then I would find a shady spot in the backyard, or a quiet place in the house, to read some more. I had no checklists of books I had to read, or hours I had to log.  Then I would pull out my notebooks and write.

         I realize that not all children get excited about libraries or books, but I can assure you, all children can feel passion. Whether it is the passion of a story that has captured their imaginations, or the passion of digging into a topic of interest to them.

         All children feel wonder.  Wonder when they make new discoveries or when they make new connections.  The feeling of awe that happens when they look at something in a new and different way, or when they are taken on a journey through a magically written story.

         All children love to be creative…which is where the writing comes in. Give them a notebook and colored pens and pencils and let them do whatever they want with it.  No rules.

         Use it as a diary, a log, a sketchbook. Write letters, poems, lists, or stories. Dream. Writing that is just for them, (unless they want to share it).

         That is what I wish for my students for the summer break- time to rediscover the joy of reading and writing.