As you and your child prepare for 1st grade this summer, one of the best things you can do is read with your child.  1st grade is the year that many (though not all) children figure out how to “decode” the letters they see on the pages of books.  All of the books you have read to your child have helped him or her learn the rhythm of sentences and the sound of fluent reading.  Snuggling up beside you with a book, your child has learned that reading is a warm and fun experience.

Take some time this summer to read books that your child enjoys—old favorites, books with rhymes, and ABC books.  As you look at and read ABC books, ask your child to tell you what sound each letter makes.  As you read rhyming books, see if your child can tell you what word will come next (“I saw a bear, over . . . . . “—see if your child fills in the word “there”).  Repetitive books that repeat a phrase many times helps your child to recognize repeating words in print.

Join your public library’s summer reading program and make reading a part of your daily routine.  Your child will look forward to that part of the day.

Have a great summer!

Mrs. Lind

Recommended Summer Reading for Upcoming 1st Graders

Repetitive and Cumulative
Green Eggs and Ham            Seuss
Any Dr. Seuss books
Brown Bear, Brown Bear,             Martin
What Do You See?       
Little Red Hen                Galdone
Bertie and the Bear                Allen
Millions of Cats                Gag
Enormous Turnip                Parkinson
Old MacDonald Had a Farm        Robinson
The House That Jack Built            Stevens
The Napping House                Wood
Henny Penny                    Zimmerman
Have You Seen My Cat?            Carle
Rosie’s Walk                    Hutchins
Animals Should Definitely Not Wear    Barrett
Clothing
The Jacket I Wear in the Snow        Parker
Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain        Aardema
Hattie and the Fox                Fox
Owl Babies                    Waddell
Books by Eric Carle

Rhyming Books
Madeline’s Rescue                Bemmelmans
Bear Detectives                Berenstain
Two Little Trains                Brown
Hairy Maclary From Donaldson’s Dairy    Dodd
ABC Bunny                    Gag
The Gingerbread Boy            Galdone
Pigs in the House                Kroll
I Meant to Clean Up My Room Today    Nerlove
The Giving Tree                Silverstein
Noisy Nora                    Wells
A Fly Went By                    McClintock
Jamberry                    Degen
Put Me in the Zoo                Lopshire

Other Good Books
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom        Martin
The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe        Wood
Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear
Books by Mitsumasa Anno
Books by Jan Brett