Today I visited the 6th grade classrooms at our local school to talk about the Summer Reading Program. After giving my spiel, a boy raised his with a question which resulted in the following dialogue:
"So I can read any book that I want this summer and it counts?"
"Yup, you can read absolutely anything you want."
"So if I want I can read medical textbooks?"
"Yes, you can read anything you want."
"YES! I can read medical books!"
No sarcasm. This kid apparently actually has a passionate interest in the medical.
This brings up a great point to remember about summer reading: Part of the beauty of summer break is that kids no longer have teachers breathing down their necks to do specific kinds of work. Summer is a great chance for kids to take a break from scheduled learning and instead focus on whatever it is that they are passionate about. They can reread their favorite books for the hundredth time. They can learn to juggle. They can read about zombies or LEGOs. They can learn even more about something cool they learned in school, or they can learn about something cool that their teacher doesn't have the time or ability to teach them. Summer is a time when kids can become experts about whatever it is they like with no questions asked.
How cool is that?
So parents, it's okay to let your kid relax a bit this summer. Let them dictate how their reading time is spent. As long as they do at least some reading, they'll be the better off for being able to take some ownership of the effort.
