Keep Learning All Summer Long: Simple Ways to Nurture Literacy (Without Worksheets or Pressure)

Summer is a time for sunshine, adventures, and… learning? Yes! But not the sit-at-a-desk kind. I’m talking about joyful, everyday moments that build your child’s brain and heart without adding pressure.

As a librarian and children’s author, I’ve seen firsthand how summer can be a powerful time to build early literacy skills—but also how easily it slips by. We’ve all heard about the “summer slide”, and while the term gets tossed around a lot, it’s rooted in truth: kids who don’t engage in reading, writing, talking, singing, and playing over the summer can lose skills they worked hard to build during the school year.

But here's the good news: literacy learning doesn’t need to look like homework.

In fact, some of the best learning happens in pajamas over a cereal box, in the backseat on a road trip, or while chasing fireflies in your own backyard.

Literacy Is Everywhere (If You Know Where to Look)

Think beyond books (though we love those too!). Reading the back of the cereal box, deciphering flashy tourist flyers at rest stops, inventing a car game, following a map around the zoo or creating a picture journal can all build vocabulary, comprehension, and confidence.

Some families make “trinket books”—simple notebooks where kids tape in small souvenirs: a pebble from the park, a straw wrapper from a fun lunch stop, a sticker from a road trip. Then, they talk or write a few words about where it came from. That’s literacy. That’s memory-building. That’s magic.

Keep the 5 Literacy Practices in Mind

You don’t need a curriculum. Just try to sprinkle in these five practices every week:

• Read together (a book, a sign, a snack label)
• Write something fun (lists, postcards, silly names for cloud shapes)
• Sing songs in the car, in the bath, or with a dance party
• Talk about your day, your dreams, your breakfast—anything!
• Play with words, with stories, with made-up games

Adventures Can Happen Anywhere

A trip to the museum is lovely. But so is:

• Inventing new names for backyard bugs
• Drawing a map to your neighbor’s mailbox
• Building a fort and reading inside it
• Singing “Five Little Ducks” with finger puppets

The best summer adventures don’t require big budgets or long itineraries. They just need curiosity—and a little time to notice the wonder in the world around us.

Introducing: The Summer of Literacy Prompt Cards

To make things even easier, I’ve have been working on a set of Summer of Literacy Prompt Cards—30 low-pressure, play-based ideas to help you build those five skills throughout the summer.

Each card includes a simple activity tied to one of the five early literacy practices.  Cut them out and put them in a jar. You can pull out one a day, a few a week, or just when your brain needs a gentle nudge.

Here are a few examples:

• Read a book outside on a picnic blanket or under a tree.
• Write your name using stickers, chalk, or finger paint.
• Make up your own silly dance to a favorite song.
• Pretend your hands are puppets and create a story.
• Call or video chat with someone and tell them about your day.

Whether you’re adventuring across the country or staying close to home, these prompts are meant to spark creativity, foster connection, and celebrate the learning that’s already happening in everyday life. They’re designed for ages 2–8, but honestly? They’re fun for grown-ups too. Be on the look out for the announcement. They will be coming soon to my TPT Page!

Let’s keep reading, writing, singing, talking, and playing all summer long.
Let’s make reading more musical.
Let’s make learning more joyful.
Let’s make memories that last.