Great Ideas for Summer Reading

I hate to admit it, but summer will be here before we know it. My daughter’s school participates in a summer reading challenge, and there is the summer reading program at the local library, too. It’s a good thing she loves to read, but I know a lot of kids need some motivation in order to stick with those reading goals.

The Many Little Joys has a great post on summer reading, with ideas for challenging kids to read more (and different) books, why reading in the summer is so important for kids and how to make it fun.

Her post includes a printable chart they used to challenge her son to read 50 books in a summer.

If you need a reading log instead of a book tracker for older kids, I made a summer reading log printable that I shared at Our Daily Craft a couple of years ago. It has spaces for the date, the book being read, when reading time started and ended and the total for the day or session.

Admittedly we usually just try to keep track of time and not always the book that was being read, but it’s fun to look back at the end of the summer and see all the books you read.

How do you encourage summer reading? I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo: The Many Little Joys.]

Looking for the best tools to help teach your child to read? Explore our specially curated Amazon Idea List featuring top-rated reading products designed to make learning to read fun and effective. From engaging phonics programs to interactive toys and books, we have everything you need to support your child’s reading journey. Visit our list now and discover the best resources to teach your child to read!

You can also see some of our other articles on reading activities and ideas here.

125 more activities to get your child to read.

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Summer Reading Printables and Tips for Parents

If you want to teach kids the basics of Hanukkah in the classroom or at home, the picture book Hanukkah by Lesléa Newman and illustrated by Rotem Teplow is a nice place to start.

The book explores the Jewish holiday through the eyes of Lior, a boy whose name means “my light” in Hebrew, which is appropriate for talking about the Festival of Lights.

The book goes through all the preparations the family does, including cleaning, setting the table and cleaning the menorah. It talks about what the menorah symbolizes and the Hanukkah story of the oil in the Holy Temple of Jerusalem lasting for eight days when it should have only been a one-day supply.

The meaning of the letters on the dreidel are also explored, in that when you are in Israel they have a different fourth word (the letters symbolize the Hebrew letters for “a great miracle happened there” or, in Israel, “a great miracle happened here”).

Because the story of Hanukkah involves oil, a lot of the foods that are eaten during the celebration are fried in oil, such as latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (fried jelly doughnuts). Other foods mentioned include challah, noodle kugel and sour cream and applesauce, which are served with the latkes. Family and friends drop by to share their food, light their menorahs together and play dreidel (the game is explained in the story). It also talks about how the candles are lit through the eight days and what happens at the end of Hanukkah.

The book includes Hanukkah blessings in English and Hebrew and talks about the lunar cycle of the Hebrew calendar, which is why Hanukkah is sometimes celebrated in November and sometimes in December. It also talks about why Jewish holidays are celebrated beginning at sunset rather than in the morning.

Other topics covered include Hanukkah greetings; how to spell Hanukkah; how to make an edible menorah and an tzedakah box (to collect money for charity); recipes for latkes and applesauce; and a more detailed story of Hanukkah than is included within the story of the book. There’s also a quiz to see how well you were paying attention.

This sweet little book is a quick read and a cute overview of the basics of Hanukkah and what the symbols, foods and games mean. It’s a great book for classrooms or at home for sharing basic knowledge.

About the book: 48 pages, hardcover. Published 2024 by words & pictures, suggested retail price $14.99.

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