Cedar’s Spring Carnival

Cedar’s Spring Carnival: Reading is a Thrill! Students head home for summer with books to combat the summer slide

By Melissa Leininger, Assistant Principal

On Thursday, May 12, over 400 Cedar family members attended our first Spring Family Literacy Carnival, kicking off our summer reading initiative. Cedar’s community partners shared a wealth of resources available for families. Maureen Austin and Traci Skipper of Community Building Partnership of Stark County shared resources such as financial literacy resources and the StarkFresh Mobile Market schedule. The Stark County Library shared their summer reading programs. Representatives from the Total Living Center shared community resources; such their monthly grocery distribution, laundry services, beauty salon, and healing services. Levels Barber College also provided free summer haircuts for students. Our Cedar carnival featured carnival games, face painting, and a photo booth. Cedar staff made homemade popcorn and cotton candy and every student received a bag of books to read over the summer to prevent the summer slide! Have you heard of the “summer slide”? The summer slide is a decline in academic skills that can occur over the summer months when school isn’t in session. Although the summer slide may not affect every student, research has shown that about 20 percent of what students learn in school can be lost when not practiced. Additionally, younger children are prone to the most learning loss because they are at a crucial stage in their academic development.

The Baker Family (left to right) Kiersten, Karslyen, Klayten, Kieghlyen.

So what can you do to avoid the Summer Slide? Keep learning all summer long by providing learning opportunities to help keep your kids’ academic skills sharp.

• Have your child read at least 20 minutes every day. • The amount of time children spend reading outside of school is linked to gains in reading achievement. • Read aloud with your child daily. • Chapter books at bedtime are a great way to build vocabulary and comprehension while bonding with your little one. • Check out the FREE amazing summer learning opportunities at Stark County Library. • Studies show that children who are read to in the home and who use the library perform better in school and are more likely to continue to use the library as a source of lifetime learning. • Listen to free audiobooks in the car or download

“Epic!” for access to free digital books. • Children who listen to audio books learn to understand language and new vocabulary above their reading level while fluent reading is being modeled. • Spend time cooking, cleaning, playing outside, board games, and talking together throughout your week. • Research states that parents have considerable influence over their child’s language and brain development by simply engaging them in conversations. • Check out the “VisitCanton. com” website or on Facebook for free family events all Summer long. • Shared experiences are critical in a child’s learning and development. Research shows that shared experiences positively influence our emotional well-being and connectedness while increasing one’s self-esteem.

Shanika and Josiah Oliver