summer slide

The other day I was talking to a friend about the 'summer slide'. It sounds fun, right? But it's not the kind of slide you're thinking of. It's not a trip to the water park or a slippery piece of wet plastic on the lawn.


In 2009 the Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, described the summer learning loss as devastating... a 'summer slide' of reading loss that compounds with each summer. If you google 'summer slide' the list of articles and facts on this widening, on-going gap is what is devastating.


As luck would have it, it turns out that independent reading is perhaps the most effective way to combat any loss over the summer. A study of 1600 sixth-graders in 18 schools showed that reading just 4 - 6 books over the summer was enough to alleviate the summer slide. And as common sense would have it, summer reading helps improve spelling, grammar, and vocabulary. Really!

Turn your summer into a 'summer climb'. 4-6 books, you can do that... make it 6-10*. With approximately 88 days of summer vacation and a world of adventure and mystery waiting for you at your local library... 

the sky's the limit.

*If you ever need a suggestion for a book, just leave a message in the comments... I'll be sure to find you something you will love.