ThinkStretch has expanded the Parent Guide to Summer to include the needs of families with pre-schoolers and middle schoolers. As the ThinkStretch Summer Learning series has expanded, we’ve recognized the need to offer more parent support for our new families.
The Pre-school transition to Kindergarten can be fraught with both fear and excitement. I remember questioning how I would know if my young one was ready to begin school. I wondered how I could help him be ready for that first day and prepared for the work ahead.
As I reflected, I realized I had exactly the same feelings about the transition from elementary to middle school. And that is when I knew that we needed to expand the Parent Guide to Summer.
For pre-schoolers, we expanded pre-reading activities and enhanced early reading ideas. For middle schoolers, we created an entirely new set of reading comprehension and reading activities just for them. The independence of the student as they approach middle school often requires new techniques to keep parents engaged and students reading.
Keeping kids reading over the summer depends on their interest in the book before them. But once you have run through your own personal all time favorite list, it can be tough to help a child select that “just right” book. To help, I curated a list of terrific websites that offer age appropriate book suggestion lists for kids of all ages. The sites specialize in boys, girls and youth reading ideas. In addition to the internet, the expanded Parent Guide to Summer offers suggestions on how to know if you have found the just right book – and what to do if you haven’t.
Engaging parents with kids over the summer continues to be a keystone of the ThinkStretch Summer Learning Program and I am excited to hear your feedback on the new Parent Guide to Summer features and what other topics you would like to see covered in the guide. Feel free to leave us a comment with your thoughts!
