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Top summer learning activities for young elementary schoolers
Keep your first-, second-, or third-grader sharp this summer with fun brain boosters.
By Jacquie Goetz Bluethmann
Rev up reading skills
"If you don’t use it, you lose it,” says Ben Shifrin, head of the Jemicy School in Owings Mills, MD, and an executive board member of the International Dyslexia Association. For a child who’s still mastering reading skills, summer can erode progress made during the school year.
In addition to reading with your child every day (check out our favorite books for first graders, second graders, third graders, and best book series for kids this age), listen to audio books during family car trips. At this age, most kids’ reading comprehension is ahead of their reading capacity, says Micki Freeny, coordinator of children and youth services for the DC Public Library. Audio books hold kids' interest and allow them to practice advanced reading fluency and comprehension — and build their vocabularies — without getting stalled on the language. Best of all, audio books will spark your child’s imagination. Find age-appropriate suggestions on Book Adventure, which rewards reading progress with prizes.
