Posted on June 1st, 2011

If there’s one downside to having two months off school in the summer, it’s the fact that children don’t have the daily, structured lessons to reaffirm what they’ve learned. That leaves it all up to you. Make it fun to learn during the summer, when, let’s face it; your child may be more interested in swimming than reading. Here’s our list of awesome — and fun — summer reading programs. Check them out!

1.Seminole County Public Schools Reading Initiative. Parents and children can download book logs, enter drawings for prizes, locate “The Big Red Bus” bookmobile and enter summer reading contests. How fun!

2.Orange County Public Library Summer Reading Program. 2011 One World, Many Stories. Children of all ages are invited to join Summer Reading Club 2011. In June and July, keep a record of the books you read, and bring the Reading Record to the library each week to receive bookmarks, prizes and stickers. Registration begins June 1.

3.University of Central Florida Summer Reading. Want to take your child’s reading to the next level? UCF offers eight different reading skills programs taught by instructors of the Institute of Reading Development. Five week, fee-based classes are taught by age and offer sight word instruction, phonics instruction and more. Go to the website for class schedules and locations.

4.Borders Bookstore Summer Reading Challenge. Children under 12 years can register online at Borders website beginning June 1. When the child reads 10 books, he or she will get one free book!

5.Barnes and Nobles Summer Reading Imagination Destination. Register online at Barnesandnobles.com and your child will receive a free book after he or she has read eight books and records them on the free downloadable Reading Journal. The website also has downloadable activities and teaching tips for parents.

In addition to this list, many learning centers such as Sylvan Learning Center and Huntington Learning Center, and local libraries, have structured reading programs as well.