Stay busy and sharp over the summer by participating in our monthly activities. There’s something for everyone and your whole family can join in the fun.

May: Keep in touch

Summer means saying goodbye (for now) to your friends from school, so stay in touch with one of the activities below.

• Design your own stationery and write a letter to a friend.
• Start writing back and forth with a pen pal (i.e. a friend, family member, a neighbor). You can email or send your letters in the mail.
• Make sure you have important phone numbers and addresses memorized for emergencies. Have a friend or family member quiz you.
• Write a letter to your favorite author. You can find contact information on the author’s website.
• Create your own postcards with designs of your favorite places or an imaginary one! On the back, write a message. Mail it to a friend or relative.
• Design your own collection of postal stamps.
• Invent a code (A=1, B=2, for example). Send a message in code to a friend.

June: Celebrate summer

Summer officially begins on June 21, but we are celebrating it all month long.

• Write a list of things you want to do this summer. Check them off as summer goes along to see how many you accomplish. Don’t forget to include reading!
• Make a chart to keep track of all the books you read this summer.
• Write down on a calendar the time the sun sets everyday. Watch for changes!
• Start a summer scrapbook.
• List all the books by your favorite author. See how many you can read this summer.
• Take a walk. Write about or draw the things you see that show summer is here.
• Create a scavenger hunt for your family. Talk a walk in your neighborhood to see how many things you can spot or find (ex: yard sign, orange car, magnolia tree, etc.)

 July: Become an author or illustrator

Embrace your creative side with our fun July activities.

• Make your own joke book. Collect jokes and riddles from your family and friends.
• Cut out pictures from an old magazine or catalog. Write a story about them.
• Create a rebus story (a story that uses pictures to represent words). Write a short story, and then substitute pictures (that you draw or cut out) for some of the words.
• Start a round-robin story with your family. Each person writes one sentence and then passes it to the next person until the story is complete.
• Illustrate your favorite parts of a book that you’ve read.
• Create or design your own magical world. Write about it and draw a picture representing it.
• Design a new book cover for a favorite book.

August: All about food

Summer is all about food—from BBQs to popsicles! Our August engagement activities encourage you to “play with your food!”

• List all the ice cream flavors you can think of. Now put them in ABC order. Try it again with your favorite candies!
• Invent a recipe for a cool summer drink. Write it on a recipe card. Serve the drink to your friends.
• Go to the library and find a cookbook. Cook or bake something from the book with your family.
• Work up an appetite by reading a story about food. Make and eat the food you read about. (Ex: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Green Eggs and Ham, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie)
• Word game! How many smaller words can you find in the word watermelon? How about spaghetti? Pancakes? Strawberry? Create your own list of words to break down into smaller ones!

Resources adapted from Reading Rockets

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