On top of lost instruction in the last quarter of the school year due to the coronavirus shut downs combined with the summer slide, the term for reading skills that decline in youth over the summer, a local teacher is encouraging the community to work with kids this summer on their reading skills.

Sam Rybacki (rye-back-E) is a reading teacher at Clinton Elementary School and expressed her concerns for the potential severe declines kids could see as a result of all the lost classroom time between the coronavirus shutdowns and the current summer vacation.

Rybacki has several ideas for families to engage their kids in reading during the summer. She recommends making regular visits to the library if possible and reading alongside your child. That could be as easy as reading to them, your child reading to you or you read while your child reads.

Some kids may be reluctant to want to read and Rybacki engaging kids in a fun activity like cooking or building something. She also points out, kids are returning to comic book reading.

Rybacki stressed the importance of kids continuing to read over the summer because it is a skill that declines if not exercised it will go away. She also encourages making reading as fun as possible and less of a chore. She says kids tend not to want to do chores, so it is important for it to be something they have fun with.