Merry Christmas, Everyone. 

Don't forget to put daily reading on your schedule each day over vacation. Reading skills get "fuzzy" when kids go for long periods without practicing them. Here are some ideas to help incorporate reading skills into your daily vacation activities:

Basic Activity Suggestions for All Ages and Abilities

 Read
o Read to children and or the family
o Take turns reading
o Listen to recorded books in the car as you travel
o Download e-books for a child to listen to as he reads while
traveling
o Ask students to read to you, to siblings, to relatives...even a pet.
o Discuss books
o Talk about words found in books you read
o Make predictions about what will happen
o Discuss events as they happen
o Talk about what the author wants the reader to think about or
understand. Ask: What is the "take away message." Why?
o Discuss the differences in types of literature: adventure, fantasy,
Sci-fi, non-fiction
o Help students identify books and subjects they like
o Help students articulate why they do like or don't like a
particular book or genre
o Older students may prefer short stories to a longer book. Ask
your librarian to suggest collections.
o Some students enjoy joke books, limericks, how-to books, craft
books. Let students follow their passions.
o Visit a zoo and find a book about a species they like: snakes,
reptiles, elephants, insects.
o Purchase a subscription to an educational magazine such as Kids
Discover. www.kidsdicsover.com, Keep old copies to help in
report writing during the school year.
o Research a topic on line. A terrific example is mummies. Create
a web or graphic organizer of information the student finds
interesting.
 A great website devoted to this is: Discovery Kids-Mummy
Maker http://kids.discovery.com/games/just-forfun/mummy-maker
 And:http://www.childrensuniversity.manchester.ac.uk/inte
ractives/history/egypt/makeamummy/