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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 15, 2000

News Release

School's Out, But Learning's In

Reading Matters -- All Year Long

Washington, D.C. -- "Summer time and the living is easy," so goes the song. It's the time for lemonade, vacations, campfires, and relaxing. But the lazy, hazy days of summer also can be the perfect time for you to help your youngsters brush up, fine-tune, accelerate, or jump start their reading skills.

National Education Association (NEA) President Bob Chase says, "One of the best summer investments every parent or caregiver can make is to spend 15 minutes a day reading with a child. Those 15 minutes can lead to a lifetime of reading pleasure -- for adults as well as children."

School may be out, but reading can be part of every family member's vacation plans. Whatever your summer plans, reading teachers have some practical -- and fun -- ways you can help make sure that your child's vacation from school isn't a vacation from learning. Here are just a few:

• The Dress Me game. Entertain small fry -- and teach them, too -- by telling them when they're dressing or undressing, the name of each item of clothing -- shirt, blouse, sweater, sock, sneaker, sandal, shorts, and so on. Then print the words on paper and ask your child to attach the words to the correct clothes in the drawer or closet.

• Snack-Plus: Cut bread into rectangles, squares, triangles, circles, making at least two of each shape. Ask your child to choose two pieces of the same shape, then to put jam or peanut butter on one piece, topping it with the other. Presto! Your youngster has learned a shape and made his own snack.

• Recycle: Instead of tossing that junk mail, use it as a learning tool. Have your child go through it to find letters, sight words, spelling words, and reading words.

• The Writing Game: Have your child pretend to write -- with an unsharpened pencil or his own finger -- on a family member's back. The adult whispers a letter or word and the child writes or spells it on the other person's back. Then the writer and the "writee" trade answers for accuracy.

• Cereal Readers: At breakfast, read the backs and sides of the cereal box. If there's a game on the box, play it.

• Navigation: Whether you're traveling by car, bus or subway, your children can help lead the way. Tell them what to look for on exit signs, street signs, and subway stops, then let them be the guide.

• Connection, please: If your child has a special interest, movie, or television show, look for books, pictures, articles on related topics.

One tip that reading teachers agree on universally: Making reading a regular part of your child's daily routine is as important as homework, dinner, and a nightly bath. Starting early, reading can become a lifelong habit. Some suggestions about titles that you can pick up for your youngsters might include a selection from NEA teachers' top 10 books for children:

1. Charlotte's Web by E. B. White (9-12 years)
2. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg (4-8 years)
3. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss (4-8 years)
4. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss (4-8 years)
5. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (4-8 years)
6. Love You Forever by Robert N. Munsch (4-8 years)
7. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein (All ages)
8. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (Baby-Preschool)
9. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls (Young Adult)
10. The Mitten by Jan Brett (4-8 years)

For other reading tips as well as the full list of Teachers' Top 100 Books for children, and the Kids' Top 100 Book List, visit www.nea.org/readacross/catalist.html. Other reading information for parents as well as teachers can be found at www.nea.org/readingmatters/. Reading Matters, NEA's high-profile literacy initiative, also includes NEA's Read Across America, which is celebrated annually on March 2, Dr. Seuss's birthday.

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The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing more than 2.7 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support personnel, school administrators, retired educators, and students preparing to become teachers.