In just under a month our son will be going back to school. (And once again I am reminded of how time flies!)  Aside from paying necessary school fees, and purchasing school supplies and clothes, our son is preparing for the new school year by doing his summer assignments, in particular, his summer reading for English class.  Even for the best of students, summer reading can often be a grueling and daunting task.

And I think it’s almost as hard on the parents. If you are a parent who’s unfamiliar with the work your child is reading, you feel bad because there’s nothing you can do to help, and if they tell you they don’t like the book or don’t understand the book, you can’t say, “I know how you feel.”  On the other hand, if you ARE familiar with the work, you feel torn in regards to whether you should help with the assignment, and if so, how much should you help.  As someone who majored in English, this is especially difficult for me.  I love advising and helping others edit their papers and develop their ideas, but with our son, I have to hold back, because I know it’s important for him to do his own work, and my husband and I don’t want for him to be dependent on someone else to assist him on things that he is capable of doing by himself.

So in the last couple of years, I’ve mostly taken a hands off approach, and we’ve let him pass or fail on his own.  Today I’m going to share a few tips and ideas for you to pass along to your kids and ideas to help you get your child through their summer reading and assignments.  As it’s a topic that I know all too well, and because I’m currently dealing with it, I have a lot of ideas to share, so this will be a two-part post! [Read more…]