Reading chest for the summer holidays? Or not bother

[messybessie]

I'm really trying not to sound like a pushy parent because I don't really think that I am

But

DS1 is in reception. He has settled in really well and I'm really proud of how he has worked at school. I say this because I was very anxious that he wouldn't settle down and would struggle but he hasn't at all. Reading and writing have both come on leaps and bounds.

With the summer holidays looming, I am firmly of the opinion that he needs to ride his bike, watch tv, play in garden etc but don't want him to lose momentum in his reading and writing.

With writing, I thought I would just get him magazines and puzzle books and things now and again.

We have always read to him at night but now he wants us to read him chapter books and proper stories, which he can't read by himself.

For reading, I was thinking about the reading chest. Is it worth it? Are the books different from the titles they have in school? (I don't want him to get school books he's done or find he's done them when he gets back to school).

Or would I be better off just getting him to read non-school books?

Visit your local library & let him choose. They may well be running activity days too.

local libraries have a variety of books to choose from. if you can afford to do reading chest, you couldalso try looking at the book people website as they have lots of sets of reading books.... you could ebay them later...

Our local library usually does a summer scheme where the child has a card and has to borrow/read 6 books. They chat to a librarian who ticks them off, and they get a sticker on a chart in the library and then get a medal at the end.

reading chest are fab. Just choose the books they don't have in school. I started it in the Christmas holidays, just to keep DS1 doing a little every day, to build on what he'd just started at school.

He likes the books. It took a while to work out which schemes he liked best (He is into Alphakids at the moment but also likes Collins Big Cat). He reads a little every day. DS2, who starts school in Sept got a Reading Chest subscription in February because he wanted his own books, and he has been reading a book every day and is now a confident reader. It's been really worthwhile for us.

We do live fairly near a library but its selection of early reader books is very limited and it's difficult to gauge the difficulty as they don't use the national colour banding scheme. We plan to do the library summer scheme too, but that's only 6 books, usually, whereas the boys each get through that many in a week usually.

Your local library will probably have some ideas, they may have chosen to participate in a nationwide reading challenge over the holidays. If your child reads about 6 books, they will get stickers etc. I think this summer has a theme of Circus. Our library also tells the schools which children have completed the challenge, and the school then has a special assembly for them in September.

More info here.

totally endorse sittinginthesun - the free library scheme is great and my dd has done it two years' running. The stickers are incentive enough, (there's also a certificate) but now the library sends the medals to her local school and they are presented at assembly. Fab idea and dd and friends delighted to collect theirs in front of the class. It's fun for the parents too, listening to the librarian quiz your child about a book!!

We've just joined (for the same reason) and so far it's been fabulous. You can opt out of the reading scheme your ds is in when you make your choices. I actually didn't because I thought it would be nice for him to occasionally see old Biff and Chip appearing through the letterbox (so far they haven't...). The service is impressive so far too - the books are in good condition and they turn up a couple of days after we send the old ones back.
I went for the level ds1 has just started and he's coping fine with them. Some challenges, but that's fine.

BTW, for writing, I'm going to try and get them to do a holiday scrapbook - mostly pictures and sticking and a litttttttle bit of writing if they feel like it. I too am of the opinion that holidays are for mooching about and riding bikes, mostly.

Oh, and they can also upload a review on the website if they want to - just a couple of sentences.

sorry piprabbit - just seen your post. Circus theme sounds great tho

I have used the reading chest in the past and highly recommend them. Service was always quick and there was a great selection of books at all levels. Our local library is not particularly well stocked, and although I know I could order books, I didn't know what to ask for. It is handy that the books just arrive through the door, and easy to post them back. Dd1 loved having post in her name too. Dd2 is due to start reception in Sept and I'll probably do Reading Chest with her once she starts school too.