This summer holidays, Let Us Read Aloud!

School is over and kids have ample time at hand. This is the best time to build a read aloud culture in our home. Studies show children who read and are read aloud during school summer holidays do far better academically than the rest. It helps them to build up on the progress they have made during the school year. Summer time reading can be both fun and beneficial. All we need is to think of creative ways of making 10 minutes read aloud time the most essential part of summer holiday activities. Here are a few ideas from my side-

1. Warm up with magazines and newspaper articles: Introduce read aloud in your home by reading short magazine or news articles or editorials to children every day. This will give them exposure to different genres, fiction, non fiction, current affairs and more. Editorials are a good place to build on powerful vocabulary and language pattern.
2. Watch film adaptations of popular children’s books: Movies can be a good way to kick start the summer read aloud. Many well written children’s books have equally wonderful film adaptation like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum and many more. Watching movie after reading the book can be a great way of making summer reading fun.
3. Try Audio books: Audio books are another fantastic way of enjoying books. Audio books provide lively experience of the book. Try listening to an audio book while on a road trip!
4. Do book series: Introduce your child to book series like Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, The chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis and many more. If your child warms up with the first book, it will be easy to continue the series through the holidays.
5. Organize a neighborhood book party: Bring in the element of fun with reading by involving friends and neighbourhood kids. Children will enjoy reading more when they know their friends are also reading the same book. Organize a simple book theme party where the kids can come together and share their experience of the book.

 Below is a list of books that can make a good summer read-aloud:

• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
• Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
• Magic Tree House 1: Valley of the Dinosaurs by Mary Pope Osborne
• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia) by C.S. Lewis
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Winnie-the-Pooh (Puffin Modern Classics)by A.A.Milne
• Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
• The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Wizard of Oz (Puffin Classics) by L. Frank Baum
• The Railway Children (Vintage Children's Classics) by E. Nesbit
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K.Rowling
• Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) by Rick Riordan
• The Green Ember by S.D. Smith
• James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
• The City of Ember: The First Book of Ember (Books of Ember) by Jeanne DuPrau
• A Wrinkle in Time (A Puffin Book by Madeleine L'Engle
• A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond

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