Going on a trip? I’ve got a tip! (Summer tip #3)

Like many of you, we’re planning on taking a vacation this year.  And in preparation for that little trip, I will be bringing in some books.  I started this a couple of years ago, when we took our first vacation to the beach. For that trip, I grabbed Pete the Cat: Pete at the Beach. It was just a small gesture, something they could read before the trip, as well as on the drive down. However, it also helped them make connections with their beach experience.

It is something I also noticed both my kids experienced when they each made their trip to the zoo when they were in Kindergarten. In class they learned a lot about different animals they would see, and even had their own coloring book (that also had words) about those animals. And when we actually went on the field trip, they made references to their learning. For example, this year my son was explaining to me how orangutans are endangered as we are walking to the primate section. I was in shock, yet impressed at the same time.

So this year one of the highlights of our trip is going to be visiting an aquarium. Now luckily, my daughter is really into aquatic animals, and has already asked way too many times whether or not we’ll be seeing dolphins. She’s already got background knowledge, but during our next library trip we’ll look into getting some books, both fiction and non-fiction, that connect to that part of our trip.  Even if you’re going to visit family, trust me, there’s a book for that.

Not only will it make the vacation more enjoyable, it will also expand their vocabulary, and importantly, keep them reading over the summer.

In short, my tip is to somehow, someway, connect literacy to your vacation this summer. Not to mention, reading on vacation may buy you some silence in the car, plane, or train on the way to your destination, which will kick off your vacation the right way. 🙂

Have you made any connections with books for your vacations? Feel free to share below. Also, you can find my first two summer tips here and here.

#RaisingReaders