LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — As summer approaches, parents are faced with the challenge of preventing their children from losing what they learned during the school year.
Brittney Mills, Executive Director and Founder of Reading Services of Arkansas, shared insights on how to keep children engaged in reading over the summer.
Mills emphasized the importance of matching reading materials with a child’s interests. “It is hard when you’re going to get a child to engage in reading if they’re trying to read something or you’re forcing them to read something that they’re not interested in,” she said. “If they love video games, there’s lots of books about video games. If they love princesses and fairies, of course, we’ve got those books too.”
To incorporate reading into busy summer schedules, Mills advised parents to be both consistent and flexible.
“Have that conversation with your child about, ‘Hey, okay, this is what the week looks like.’ So if we’re going to Grandma’s, ‘then what book would you like to take to Grandma?’” she suggested. Mills also suggests audiobooks, saying, “Audio books absolutely count, because what’s going to happen is there is going to be vocabulary in that audio book that the child might not be able to read yet.”
Mills encouraged parents to create a reading list with their children and to remain adaptable. When it comes to setting reading goals, she is against imposing strict numerical targets. “It is just read as much as you can, as long as it’s enjoyable to the child.”
For Arkansas parents seeking additional resources, Mills recommended the “Our Kids Read” program, which offers free summer literacy programs at neighborhood libraries in Conway, Pine Bluff, Little Rock, and Mayflower. These programs feature certified teachers and interns to support children’s reading development.
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