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SALT LAKE CITY -- One of the best ways to make sure your child remembers what they learned this school year is to read all summer.
KSL and other Deseret Media Companies are launching a Summer Reading Challenge that will keep your kids moving forward and keep them motivated.
We have a new way for you to log your kids' summer reading minutes starting Monday -- online at ksl.com.
If you'll take part in our Read Today challenge, your kids can win prizes for themselves and their schools.
New kindergarten recruits are in preseason training.
Your students work really hard the nine months they are in school. If they stop using these skills, if they don't use them, they'll lose them.
–Jodi Anderson
Their parents are getting the governor's summer reading calendar and refrigerator magnets reminding them to start reading at least 20 minutes a day to get them ready for school.
"We get a few minutes out of him and he is off and wants to go play," says dad Bart Childester.
Mom Lourdes Marquez understands the importance of summer reading. "Yes, I have time for that because I know it's important to read 20 minutes every day for my kids," she says.
Teachers hope families will make daily reading a year-round habit. Each summer as kids get older, they often lose 20 to 30 percent of what they learned in school each summer.
"Your students work really hard the nine months they are in school," says Midvale Elementary School kindergarten teacher Jodi Anderson. "If they stop using these skills, if they don't use them, they'll lose them."
So kindergarten teachers are coaching these families on practical ways to fit reading into summer schedules.
"We get really excited to go to barbecues, sleep in and play lots of Nintendo," Anderson says. "Just taking time and setting it aside so you can work on reading."
So with encouragement and incentives, more Utah students can go back to school ready to learn.
"He wants to win the prizes, and I'm like well good because I want you to read!" says Childester.
Starting Monday, take our Read Today Summer Reading Challenge. You can access the reading tracker by clicking [HERE].
Every week, we'll report the progress. Log your minutes online to make sure your reading gets counted for your school.
If you didn't get a summer reading calendar at school, they're available online by clicking [HERE] and at all Deseret Book locations.
E-mail: dwimmer@ksl.com
