Reading. For many people, this isn’t the first thought that pops into our minds when we think of summertime. Not unless you re envisioning yourself by the beach with a good book as the children occupy themselves, anyway.

While it might not be the first summer activity we think of , it is an essential component to giving your children the right start for the new school year. (It also helps tame TV time and rainy-day blues)

We’ve compiled a short list to get your child’s summer reading kicked off. We’ve even matched them up to the free Pathways found on LessonPathways.com, so you and your child can fully enjoy the story and all of the enrichment activities.

Remember, you don’t have to complete the entire Pathway.  You can pick and choose the activities that fill your needs!

Today, we’re including books and resources for grades PreK – 2. We’ll cover grades 3 – 6 on Monday, with higher grades to follow.

We’ve compiled this list from various public school lists found on the Internet. Since these vary from state to state (and even county to county), we’ve selected books that were most common to each of the lists. We chose books that are considered children’s classics and easily found in most libraries. However, if you would like to purchase the books on this list, simply click the picture to be taken to Amazon.com, where a portion of your purchase price will go towards keeping LessonPathways free.

Summer Reading List Grades PreK – 2

Read the story “The Gingerbread Man“ with your child. By working on story comprehension, predicting what will happen next in the story, and creating a fun gingerbread man chain, your child will gain an understanding of the story and the language arts concept for the week. Your child will also learn the sight words: but, did, and came. This unit also includes online games, videos, and coloring pages. Click here to access this free unit on “The Gingerbread Man”.

Read the story “The Rainbow Fish” with your child. By working on story comprehension and learning to differentiate between fact and opinion, your child will understand the story and the language arts concept for the week. Your child will also be introduced to the sight words “clean, cut and done.” This unit also includes worksheets, videos, games, activities, puzzles and coloring pages. Click here to access this free unit on “The Rainbow Fish”.

This unit covers the story,”The City Mouse and the Country Mouse,” which you will read with your child. In addition, your child will be learning about basic nouns, as well as practicing with the sight words “this, too, and under.” Your child will also explore his or her own world by doing a scavenger hunt in the kitchen and creating a “My Favorite Foods” book. This unit includes interactive games, craft projects, videos and interactive reading activities. Click here to access this free unit on “The City Mouse and the Country Mouse”.

In this unit, you will be reading “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein with your child. You will discuss some of the emotions present in the story and your child will create a “Happiness is” book of his/her own. Your child will also learn more about what we get from trees by reading an online page and then applying what he/she has learned in some fun activities: tree drawing, leaf rubbings, a “Working Trees” coloring book. This unit will also introduce the concept of contractions by reading a page online with your child and then practicing with online games and an online quiz. Click here to access this free unit on “The Giving Tree”.

Read the story “Stellaluna” with your child. By working on story comprehension, learning about the main character in the story, and discovering interesting facts about bats, your child will understand the story and the language arts concept for the week. Your child will also review the sight words from the previous weeks. This unit also includes worksheets, videos and coloring pages. Click here to access this free unit on “Stelluna”.

Read the story “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” with your child. By working on story comprehension, learning about the main character in the story, and discovering interesting facts about Australia, your child will understand the story and the language arts concept for the week–syllables. This unit also includes worksheets, videos, games, and coloring pages. Click here to access this free unit on “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”.

Read “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” with your child. By asking comprehension questions, putting on a puppet show, and playing an interactive game, your child will understand the story and have fun. Your child will also learn about descriptive words by playing a detective game. Click here to access this free unit on “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”.

Those my recommendations for PreK – 2 summer reading. What’s yours? Let us know in the comments section below.

This post was written by Christina S.. She is a full-time work-at-home-mom, living with her family in Detroit, Michigan. They started homeschooling 11 years ago and haven’t looked back since!