Reading shouldn't end in the Classroom

I'm not a parent, but I do have nieces and nephews and I encourage them to read as much as possible. I firmly believe that kids who struggle with reading, struggle with school. Reading is essential and a core skill needed in classroom's and life.

“Just like hockey players lose some of their skills if they stay off their skates and off the ice for three months, children who do not read in the summer lose two to three months of reading development”

—Dr. Richard Allington

Scholastic has a summer challenge that encourages children to keep reading during the summer.

If you want to participate in challege, please check out the Scholastic website here.

From the Scholastic site:

Highlights


•Now in its sixth year, the Scholastic Summer Challenge invites kids to log the minutes they spend reading as they Read for the World Record, and the 20 schools with the most minutes logged will receive recognition in the 2013 Scholastic Book of World Records. In 2011, kids logged 64,213,141 minutes. You can learn about the Top 20 schools here.

•The Scholastic Summer Challenge has something for everyone!


Kids:

◦Log minutes and help set a new world record for summer reading

◦Check out how your school is competing with others in an interactive map

◦Participate in weekly challenges and earn digital rewards by spinning the virtual prize wheel

◦Enter sweepstakes to win fabulous prizes

◦List your favorite books and see celebrities who like the same books, and connect with readers like you through the You Are What You Read widget

Educators:

◦Track students' reading progress throughout the summer through our Teacher Dashboard which also allows for bulk registration for the entire class

◦Email or print a take-home letter to let parents know students are signed up for the Summer Challenge

◦Check the interactive map to see how many minutes other schools have read

◦Participate in two free webcasts

◦Download summer reading book lists

◦Use the Classroom Participation Guide to incorporate the Summer Challenge into lesson plans in various ways including tailored activity sheets

◦Enter sweepstakes and gain access to exclusive promotions at the Teacher Store Online

Parents:

◦Discover ways to use the Summer Challenge at home with the Family Participation Guide

◦Find expert tips to encourage your child to read more this summer

◦Download summer reading book lists

◦Print activity sheets, reading certificates, and more

◦Receive email alerts on your child’s weekly reading success

•As part of the Summer Challenge, Governors’ Spouses from across the nation are serving as “Reading Ambassadors” to help spread the important message about reading books over the summer. This is the fourth year the First Spouses are supporting this cause. For more on the Reading Ambassadors program, click here.

•For the third year in a row, WordGirl™ will serve as the national “Ambassador of Summer Reading.” WordGirl has adopted summer reading as her cause to encourage kids to continue reading over the summer, because reading helps children learn new words, and learning new words helps children become better readers. She will kick-off the 2012 Summer Challenge on May 1st with the WordGirl Definition Competition Webcast for classrooms. Registration and event details coming soon!