Teachers Say Keep Kids Reading During Summer So They're Ready For Next Year

Kristin Shields, left, and Lori Coressel, Archbold second grade teachers, with their students. The two teachers, interviewed last week, talked about the youngsters' excitement about summer vacation. They also discussed ways to help children maintain the skills they learned during the school year, in preparation for the start of school in August. The biggest thing both Shields and Coressel mentioned is to keep children reading.- photo by David Pugh School bells will ring for the last time for the 2008-09 school year, today, Wednesday, May 27.

Lori Coressel and Kristin Shields, second grade teachers, said for the past week, their students have been excited about the coming summer vacation.

"They're very excited for summer. They talk about it all the time. They talk about playing baseball and softball.

"Recently, they've been talking about the opening of the swimming pool," Coressel said.

Shields agreed.

"They definitely know summer is around the corner.

"They're getting excited about the swimming pool, baseball, and softball."

Shields said some of her students have talked about vacations.

Coressel said she's heard that one family will travel to Niagara Falls; another is heading for Virginia Beach, Va. Another family is planning a trip to California to visit relatives.

"Several families are planning to do a lot of camping," she said.

Other things that excite the youngsters are the prospects of staying up late at night and no

Worth Attending?

Coressel said all the excitement over summer vacation hasn't gotten in the way of learning.

Shields said the way teachers counteract the excitement is to get the students involved in more hands-on activities.

Recently her class toured a bakery and saw how bread is made. When they returned to school, they made some of the recipes.

Coressel said her students studied Africa. Now, they're working on projects showing what they learned.

"We keep them active. They do not want to sit in their seats and listen. We keep them more engaged," she said.

Summer Learning

How can parents make sure their children are ready for school next August? What can they do to help their children retain the skills and knowledge they learned over the past school year?

"That will always be an issue, whether it's 30 years ago, or 10 years from now," said Shields.

The two teachers agreed- keep kids reading.

"Summer reading is really important. Parents should set aside reading time each day; if not, four days a week," Coressel said.

"If you're going on vacation, read in the car. I know that sounds old school, now that everybody has a DVD (digital video disc player) in the car," Shields said.

"It's so important to take kids to the library," Coressel said.

"To maintain their skills, they've got to read. Reading, and writing in journals. Write a couple of times a week. Practice math facts," Coressel said.

In the early grades, particularly kindergarten through second, Coressel said the curriculum focuses heavily on the basic skills- reading, writing, and math.

"We study concepts like social studies, but they've got to be good readers, writers, and math thinkers," she said.

Shields also recommended youngsters keep journals over the summer.

"They don't have to be everyday journals," she said.

Coressel said, "We can tell kids who have done some reading over the summer," and those who have not.

"I would agree," Shields said.

"We can tell who has not done anything over the summer, and who has."- David Pugh