In the United States, there are 25 million children who are not proficient in reading. Some causes of limited reading skills are learning disabilities and lack of support.

 

Are you worried your child may fall behind in their reading skills? Don’t worry; there are ways to support your child, like enrolling them in a summer camp for kids struggling with reading.

There are numerous benefits to enrolling your child in an academic summer camp. Keep reading to learn more about how you can help your child.

 

Common Reading Challenges Children May Face

It is crucial to be aware of your child’s struggles with any reading problems. Reading problems will challenge your child and can make reading not fun. Addressing these problems can help your child’s education.

 

When analyzing the potential reading problems children may have, we found three. Here are the categories reading problems fall into:

 

Difficulty with Phonemic Awareness

Various factors, such as a phonological processing disorder, can cause a child to struggle to read. This may affect their ability to make connections between letters and sounds and contribute to their difficulty decoding words.

 

Comprehension Problems

A child can also struggle with comprehension when reading. A lack of understanding can restrict learning retention. Reading comprehension focuses on interpreting the written text. It can also give them additional knowledge, skills, and experience. 

You want your child to be able to answer these questions.

  • What does this content focus on? 
  • What can we learn from this content?
  •  

Difficulty with the Rules of our Language

Unfortunately, a child can struggle with many reading difficulties at one time. A child may struggle with decoding words, reading fluently, or comprehending what they read. They can also struggle with spelling and vocabulary. 

 

What Should You Look for in a Summer Reading Camp?

A great academic program will focus on the five principles of reading. These include:

  • Phonemic Awareness
  • Phonics
  • Vocabulary
  • Fluency
  • Comprehension
  •  

Your child can work in these areas in a one-on-one or small group setting with an instructor trained explicitly in helping struggling readers. Thus, your child can improve crucial elements of reading and gain confidence.

 

Additionally, good summer programs should offer different grade levels. The varying reading levels allow your child to be met at their skill level and get the proper help they need regardless of their grade.

 

This experience should be enjoyable for your child even though they are attending “school.” While initially reluctant, students quickly learn that summer school is fun!

 

What Are the Benefits of Reading Summer Camps?

Besides helping your child with reading problems, summer programs can help students in other ways which benefit your child inside and outside the classroom.

 

Social Skills

While attending an academic summer class, your child can improve their social skills by being able to meet new, like-minded students in a productive and safe environment.

 

Your children will get to meet others who struggle with reading as well. This neutral and nonjudgement environment will help your child explore. Plus, the activities are a great way to develop new friendships.

 

Academic Growth

Overlooking children with reading problems is a common problem at schools, which can make your child feel stressed, isolated, and unintelligent. Each child attending the summer camp will have their needs met, restoring self-confidence.

 

A benefit of summer reading camps is that there are small class sizes. The small class size allows your child to get small group instruction. If your child needs one-to-one help, they can get that too. 

 

Emotional Growth

During their time at the academic summer camp, children grow emotionally too. They will develop confidence and learn to advocate for themselves and their needs.

 

The confidence also extends to their reading skills. You want your child to feel confident in their reading capabilities to alleviate negative feelings about their skill level.

 

Lastly, it will allow your child to be confident in meeting new friends. Seeing that others struggle just like them can help minimize their nervousness. 

 

Learn More About Summer Camp for Kids Who Struggle

If you want to learn more, check out our other blogs. We post content to learn more about why your child might be struggling and to help improve your child’s reading abilities. You can also contact us at the Read Learning Center for additional questions.