A+Message+for+Parents+of+Younger+Readers

===Summer is upon us, and we would like to encourage parents to continue reading quality literature with your child while on holiday. Numerous studies show that if children don’t read a lot during the summer vacation, they lose progress that they gained during the year. Our own school data supports this research.===

===Finding a way to make reading a part of your daily life during the summer is key to maintaining interest and a love of reading. Whether it’s every morning over breakfast, during travel time or every evening after dinner, a reading routine will ensure that your child returns to school having spent hours enjoying books with you.===

===Open-ended questions are best as they allow children to develop thinking strategies. Questions like ,“What color is the character’s shirt?” is not an open-ended question because a child can answer it with single word.===

===1. What do you think will happen next?=== ===2. How does this story make you feel and why?=== ===3. Has anything like this ever happened to you?=== ===4. Does it remind you of another story you read?=== ===5. What information does the picture tell us?===

===Please do not feel that you need to seek out English books if you are in your home country. We want to encourage reading in your home language. As you know, reading quality literature in your home language gives children the chance to solidify their first language (mother tongue), as well as helps them to continue developing higher-level thinking skills.===