A Summer Reading Journal
- Kathy Oliver
- Apr 16
- 2 min read
As these days are getting longer and warmer, it is now time to think about summer activities, like backyard barbeques, that vacation to the beach or state park. We love to take pictures and videos to document these fun times. Maybe we create a photo album or scrap book. Often a summer activity can include relaxing summer reading. We finally have a bit of time to read that novel we have been putting off, or explore a new topic, like travel, history, gardening or art. Reading, especially for enjoyment, has many benefits, such as boosting fluency and vocabulary which keeps our brains functioning, helps our memories. But more than that, a reading habit enhances personal connection by allowing us to reflect on emotions of characters, see the world through different perspectives, develop imaginative thinking, getting us out of our silos and challenging our way we view the world around us. And of course, there are health reasons to read. We can reduce stress and lower our blood pressure.
Since we document and plan our vacations, why not plan for and document our reading. We can create a road map of reading goals. And we can preserve not only the books we read, but preserving our views about the books. Why did we find it enjoyable? Who is our favorite character and why? If we could change the ending, how would the book end differently and why? This could be a summer reading journal, a way to treasure our reading memories. It could be as creative as we make it. We could create a theme, list goals and show if we achieved them or how close we came. A visual record is something we could visit and reflect back on our reading adventures. There are many digital formats out there online, but I thought I would provide a summer themed journal to get you started. It is in PDF format so you can download it and print it off. You might want to print off more than 1 of some of the pages. You could get a report cover for it from a local office supply store to preserve it. This could be the beginning of a personal or family tradition. A journal each family member can share with each other at the end of the summer. I hope you give it a try and let me know your thoughts and ideas for your journal. Happy Summer Reading!
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