Students and teachers and parents everywhere are counting down: summer vacation is allllmost here! And while everyone is eager to escape tests and homework in favor of the slower, lazier days of summer, that doesn’t mean learning has to stop. In fact, there are lots of ways to make sure our kids don’t lose all their hard-earned gains from the school year during the fast-approaching long summer weeks.
Your local public library is a great place to start! If you live in Durham, you’ll want to know about Durham County Library‘s summer reading program and their awesome free kickoff event at Northgate Mall next Saturday! Get all the details here. Chapel Hill friends, don’t miss out on Chapel Hill Public Library‘s Summer Blast kickoff party this coming Friday! Everything you need to know is here.
Looking for ideas to keep learning at home? Check out the National Summer Learning Association‘s Top 10 Easy Summer Learning Tips for Parents — you can even print it out and stick it on your fridge for easy reference all summer long. Think ice melting in your lemonade has nothing to do with keeping your kids’ school skills sharp? Think again! (Hint: it’s a delicious and refreshing science experiment!)
Don’t miss out on National Summer Learning Day! All over the country, organizations will mark the midpoint of summer with special events and activities — and you definitely need to mark your calendar NOW for Book Harvest’s big celebration! On July 16 from 5 to 7 p.m., we will host Scholastic’s Summer Reading Roadtrip. Join us for a free celebration including activities, photo opportunities with costumed characters, crafts, a prize wheel…and of course, lots of free books! You can follow along for details and updates on the Facebook event page.
If you need ideas for what to read this summer, you can find great book lists online with summer reading recommendations for all ages. We love Scholastic’s free Summer Reading Challenge, which has a magical booklist for children from birth all the way to young adults.
And if you’re a summer program provider, we’re happy to share with you our Summer Learning Toolkit, which we created in partnership with the North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation. It’s packed with tips and tools to help you become a Summer Learning Ambassador!
Finally, don’t forget you can come visit us anytime to find great free reads — we’re open Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. all summer long. Wishing you a summer filled with (really fun) learning!