Spending Summers Seeing New Scenes - Summer Readers from Sonlight

I received this complimentary product from Sonlight. 

Well-told tales, like those in the Summer Readers Sets from Sonlight, have a way of transporting me back to the time and place I was reading a specific story. I can still pick up books that I read during the summer and remember sitting outside in my mom's backyard. I can almost hear the birds and feel the sun on my face. I always looked forward to the summers when I was a teen and young adult in college because it meant I could read more books. I loved getting out the lawn chair, my newest book, and my cassette player (later my Ipod) and sitting outside under the bright sunshine and reading.

When we are on vacation down the shore, I fondly remember the summer I discovered the books of Lucy Maud Montgomery. My mom let me pick one book at the 5 & 10 store in case there was rain the week that we were at the beach. I think I finished Anne of Green Gables before the week was even over! Whether I was sitting on the beach or the terrace at the rental house, I was transported to Prince Edward Island.

As much as I miss those carefree days of summer reading, times have changed. As a wife and mom, my summers have gone from those lazy days of hours spent in the sun reading to spending time with my husband and children. Fortunately, my husband shares my love of reading so we have already shared some new lovely summer reading traditions together as a family.

How Our Families Spends Summers Reading

Reading Challenge

Last year, the whole family participated in a reading challenge for the summer. Could we read 100 books by the end of the summer? I included books read by and to our two younger children, as well as those read by our teen, myself, and my husband. We did not reach our goal of 100 books but we came close - only about 20 books shy.

Will we read 100 books this summer? With books like Guts and Glory: The American Civil War by Ben Thompson or Clare Vanderpool's Navigating Early from the Sonlight's High School Boys Summer Reading Package, we will sure give it our best to reach our goal. Sometimes it seems like the summer is over before you have had the chance to select quality books for your children to read. With the Summer Readers from Sonlight sets, books are selected by the founder of Sonlight, Sarita Holzmann and her daughter, Jonelle, so you don't have to worry about pre-reading all of your children's summers books. After reading through their favorites, they create a list of titles for both boys and girls from elementary through high school.

"The boy books tend to have male main characters, with plots that emphasize adventure and danger, with pranks, humor and hijinks for good measure.

The girl books tend to have female main characters, with plots that emphasize courage and connection, with romance, mystery, and beauty for good measure." (Sonlight Summer Readers)

Each Summer Readers set contains four to five selected books that help children continue to grow over the summer academically – as well as have fun!

When starting a reading challenge you might ask: is quantity as important as quality? Not at all but it helps to set goals. It was also pretty exciting to see our goal chart fill up with stickers and the titles of books last year. I look forward to adding books from the Sonlight Summer Readers to our 'to-read' list this year! I admit I want to check out several of the books myself – including The Gallery by Laura Marx Fitzgerald from the High School Girls' Summer Reading Package.

Library Summer Reading Program

Another way we approach reading during the summer is through the Summer Reading Program at our local library. Last year, our four-year-old participated for the first time in the Summer Reading Program at our library. To encourage summer reading, our library provides a log and bookmarks for the children. Last year, as children filled up their logs, a leaf was placed on a paper tree in the library to represent the number of books children read.

During the summer, our library had special guests with presentations and movie nights for the entire family. At the end of the program, children received a bag of prizes which included coupons to local businesses and an appropriate gift (our son received a small brick car and person to build).

What is great about our library's program is that it doesn't matter if the books are from the library or your own collection - they are all eligible for the book log. And grown-ups can participate, too! So this year our teen will be keeping his log and adding in the books from the Sonlight Summer Reader Set.

Our Family Will Add to Our Summer Reading Plans

Reading Outdoors

In our household, our children range from a 15-year-old to a 4- and 3-year-old. This summer we will all get out of the house to read either in the backyard, or on rainy days, on the porch. We will pick books to read independently as well as books to read aloud together.

Read Aloud with the Teen

Our teen will be taking on the role of reader for our read alouds. Somewhere along the path to growing up, he lost his early love of reading. We have tried all the tips to no avail. I am hoping that he will regain some of that early love by sharing books with his siblings.

Some Tips for Encouraging Your Reluctant Reader

• Provide them with appropriate books written at or just above their reading level 
• Allow them to pick their own books (within reason) 
• Allow them to read comics and graphic novels 
• Be a reader yourself
• Leave books around the house that might interest your children 
• Visit the library, book store, or comic book store regularly 
• Let your child stay up and read – we always told our teen if  he couldn't sleep, he could turn on his light and read even if it was past his bedtime 

Sonlight offers a "complete Homeschool Curriculum" with "easy-to-use lesson plans, schedules and materials from Preschool through High School." Their summer readers offer three levels of books – elementary, middle school, and high school – with books for sets designed for boys and girls.

Visit Sonlight to learn more about the Summer Readers. 

Enter for your chance to win a set of the Summer Readers!


a Rafflecopter giveaway