Let’s Play!

For many families, summer has a different vibe compared to the rest of the year. Summer is a welcome break from the busyness of the school year, and most parents are happy to take a breather from assigned reading, spelling lists, and last-minute projects. But maybe you’re a bit worried that this relaxed summer vibe will have a negative effect on your kids because they aren’t doing anything academic. But your laidback vibe might be exactly what your kids need to become better readers.

Kids need 2 things to be successful readers. One thing is explicit teaching, meaning they need to be taught how to read. It doesn’t come naturally, so all kids need lessons and practice to get good at it. Some kids need more practice than others, but almost all kids need some amount of direct teaching and practice to become fluent.

But even before kids can get good at reading, they need something else. They need a strong foundation that supports learning.

To understand this, think about a baby. You can’t just prop up a baby and expect them to successfully walk. They first need to develop muscle strength, coordination, and balance before they can attempt a few steps. In other words, they need a strong foundation that supports walking before they can walk. That’s exactly what kids need to be successful readers. They need a strong foundation that supports learning before they can become good readers.

Building your child’s learning foundation isn’t a process that you can push, just like you can’t push your baby to walk before they’ve developed muscle strength and coordination. This foundation develops over time, but we can influence it. That’s where a relaxed summer vibe comes in. The days are longer, your family’s schedule might be less hectic, and there’s no homework to help with or spelling words to practice. That leaves more time for some foundational development!  

You’re probably wondering: what do I have to do to build my kid’s foundation? Where can I order the manual? Is there a class my kids can take? How much will this cost?!

Here’s what you do:

You let kids play. Yes, you read that right. You let kids play.

Good old-fashioned play. Running around the yard, building Lego, playing house, making mudpies, throwing a ball around, playing soccer, climbing trees, decorating the sidewalk with chalk, and all the other things kids get up to in the summer.

Why play? Why not lessons or classes? Because play is the primary way that kids develop a strong foundation so they can learn. Lessons are important, but the lessons won’t stick without a strong foundation.

Here’s how it works: when kids swim, they build coordination and balance, which they will use to sit at a table, grip a pencil, and write neatly. When they play pretend, they try out different perspectives, something that will help them understand characters in a story. When they learn to ride a bike, they build confidence, which they need when faced with challenging tasks (like reading and spelling new words). When they build a sandcastle, they test theories and solve problems, skills they will use when following the plot of a story or reading a science book. These are just a few examples of how powerful play is in building a strong foundation for learning. Play is not just something kids do when they’re done learning. It’s literally how they build the skills they need to make learning possible.

What about older kids? They need play too because their foundations are still developing. Board games with complex rules, shooting hoops at a neighbourhood court, or playing an organized team sport are all forms of play that actively build their foundation for learning.

So, if your summers are filled with bike rides, backyard games, swimming, climbing trees, playing catch, kicking balls, crafting, hopscotch, jump rope, swinging, doodling, or building, congratulations! Your summer vibe is building brains!

But wait! Does that mean there’s no room for a bit of reading practice during the summer? There’s always room for a bit of reading practice! But keep it light and simple. Let play do the heavy work this summer, while you slide in with a few lightly-structured literacy activities now and again. Follow me on IG and FB for simple ideas that have a big impact on literacy skills, without ruining your summer vibe.

I will add one more thing: if your kid is struggling with learning how to read, summer might be the perfect time to focus on doing a bit of catch up. They still need lots of free play to build their foundation, but adding in a bit of explicit teaching could set your child up for success when school starts up again. I’ll write more about this in a future post.

Right now, it’s playtime!