As the school year winds down, many educators are already thinking ahead: How do we keep students reading, writing, and growing (or remembering!) over the summer?
We know summer learning loss is real—especially in reading. But with a few small, intentional supports, we can help families keep the momentum going. Here are a few ideas we think pack some punch:
Help Caregivers Find Books
Access is everything. The best summer reading plan starts with helping families find books their children can and want to read.
- Share information about your local library—especially summer programs, open hours, and how to get a library card.
- Remind caregivers about online options. Daffodil Hill Press offers a variety of free decodable ebooks that are great for summer reading—short, skill-aligned, and enjoyable! (We also have some monthly subscriptions to e-books in our Shop for those who are interested.)
- Think creatively about access at school: Could you open the school library once or twice over the summer? Or just roll a book cart outside at pickup to encourage summer book borrowing during an ice cream social?
Offer a List of Practical Writing Opportunities
Summer writing doesn’t need to be academic to be powerful. Kids can keep their writing muscles strong through simple, everyday activities. Share a list like this with families:
- Write letters, postcards, or emails to friends, family, or classmates
- Create shopping lists or to-do notes around the house
- Make signs or posters to decorate windows, bedrooms, or porches
- Make top ten lists of anything: TV Shows, Songs, Colors, Hobbies
- Start a summer memory notebook
- Label things around the house with sticky notes (think: closet organization project!)
Send Home Word Lists or Blending Lines
Don’t underestimate the power of a few familiar tools. A page of blending lines or decodable word lists can go a long way in maintaining decoding skills and fluency—especially if caregivers know how to use them.
We recommend choosing a few activities (and modeling them before the end of the year or even providing a video), such as:
- Read the words in a whisper, then a robot voice, then fast
- Time how long it takes to read the list—then try again
- Choose and read three to five words and say or write a silly story with them
- Choose a word, give clues about that word, and ask someone else to find it
- Put the words on cards and play memory or go fish
Free Caregiver Handout: 6 Tips for Literacy At Home
To make it easy for you to support families, we’re sharing a free one-page printable: “6 Tips for Literacy At Home”
It’s perfect for backpacks, folders, or take-home bags—clear, friendly, and packed with practical ways to keep kids reading this summer.
Whether you’re sending home book bags or just offering suggestions, your efforts make a difference. The truth is:
A little intentional literacy goes a long way.
And we’re here to help. Our decodable collections—Bit by Bit Instructional Decodables, Los Narcisos Spanish Decodables, and Purposeful Practice—are short, skill-aligned, and made to fit into real-life routines, summer included.