Drop-In Reading Program Helps Beat the "Summer Slide"

My kids and I have spent a good deal of this summer at the beach swimming and playing tennis, but last week I took my 6 year old daughter to a free drop-in reading program at the East Norwalk Library. For 45 minutes, my daughter and another child sounded out words with a volunteer, discussed a story, and did a reading related activity. She loved it and couldn't wait to go back the next day.

The summer literacy program is the brainchild of Carly Imhoff, a Norwalk resident who attends College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine and is studying Education.

According to Imhoff, research shows that children who don't read during the summer are susceptible to "the summer slide"--falling two months behind in their pre-summer reading level.

Lower income students who have less access to enriching summer activities are most susceptible to falling behind she said. In addition Imhoff said studies also show that elementary kids should not be reading by themselves all the time. Someone should occasionally read with them to check their comprehension.

"There is not a lot of research done about drop-in projects," said Imhoff. "Parents are so busy these days. I wanted to try something more flexible that would be accessible to lower and middle income students."

So far, more than 80 children have signed up for the program which runs from July 13 to August 17. Students Kindergarten to Grade 5, are grouped with others of similar reading level and they can drop in wherever there is a class scheduled at their level. Imhoff recruited 9 local teens and adults to volunteer for the project.

Ruth Balderrama, a Norwalk parent, brings her five-year-old son, six-year-old daughter and neighbor's child to the literacy program. "I want them to learn while they are on vacation," she said "Anything that helps them with their skills is good."

Imhoff, who received a grant for the project from her college, spent a month at the John Hopkins National Center for Summer Learning where she wrote the curriculum for the program. She will be tracking her results to find out what effect such drop-in programs have on child literacy.

For more information about the drop-in literacy program and how your child can participate, contact Imhoff by e-mail at cimhoff@coa.edu, or visit http://sites.google.com/site/summerliteracyprogram/Home.

Here's more information on the "summer slide" for interested parents:

Summer Can Set Kids on the Right—or Wrong—Course Study Links a Lack of Academic Achievement, High Dropout Rate, to Summertime Learning Loss

More Than a Hunch: Kids Lose Learning Skills Over the Summer Months

Doesn’t Every Child Deserve a Memorable Summer?

Here's a link to the Best Children's Books Ever, according to NY Times columnist Nicholas Kristof

In the meantime, happy reading!

(In picture child literacy volunteer Gina Caputo (middle) reads to Maria Balderrama (left))