A child’s mind doesn’t take a vacation; it is always eager to learn. Students can lose up to three months of reading skills during the summer break. It’s called the summer slide. The slide begins the first week students are out of school. Poor summer reading habits can produce a three-year achievement gap by fifth grade!

The READ Up: Stop the Summer Slide^SM program helps reverse summer reading loss by providing opportunities for children to continue to read throughout the summer months. READ Up helps families, caregivers, and children keep reading aloud part of their daily summer routines.

READ Up events are for children from birth to age 8 and their parents or caregivers. Partnering with local groups offering summer events for children, READ Up organizers provide reading activities and free books to children. Organizers also provide parents and caregivers tips and take-home materials to help encourage young readers. And at many READ Up events trained volunteers model how to read aloud effectively during a story time with the children.