BRUNSWICK SCHOOL
MAY/JUNE 2011
MONTHLY MAILING A MESSAGE FROM THE HEADMASTER The Best Thing Your Son Can Do Over The Summer There are many things that summer promises a boy! Fresh air, sun, fun outside, relaxation and time with family are some of the first that come to mind. However, there is also a great amount of time that parents always wonder (to some extent or another) how to fill. Although I have said and written words to this effect before, I think it bears repeating. More than any other single activity with which your son could be involved this summer, there is one that will prove more beneficial in a host of ways than any other. What if I told you that there was one activity that is guaranteed - yes, guaranteed - to provide your son with all of not some of the following: ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐ ‐
better success in school a more informed outlook on life a more agile mind a far greater vocabulary more patience more independence better, far better, writing skills an enhanced imagination clearer thinking skills significantly better SAT scores
I know that statement is promising a great deal, but the reality is that if your son can use some of his free time this summer to begin a life-long love of reading, all that I have listed above and more will surely follow. It doesn’t matter whether he reads fiction or non-fiction. All that matters is that he reads on a daily basis. For younger readers, assigning a regular time of the day that is “reserved” for reading might be a good idea but, ultimately, the ideal situation - the goal - is for him to find a book that totally envelopes him . . . a book that you find him picking up at any free moment, a book that causes him to be late to the dinner table, a book that causes him to feel a temporary sense of emptiness when finally he finishes the last page. The bottom line is that reading needs to start as a habit and then evolve into a joy; the summer that your son learns to love reading will be one of the best summers of his life.