Dear Warrior Families,

Recently, I was looking at the school calendar for the months of May and June. We started the end of year assessments, such as Dibels Reading and MAP. Final field trips, chapels, awards, and ceremonies are on the horizon. Our days are filled with busyness as we finish up this school year and look ahead to the future. 

In this season of busyness it is easy to lose sight of the most important thing, seeking God and His wisdom. This week as I was reading Proverbs 4, I was reminded of the importance of pursuing wisdom. Proverbs 4:25-26 says, “Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.”

During the summer holiday it is good to have a variety of ways to spend our time. Time for rest. Time for pleasure. Time to develop talents and skills. And time to pursue wisdom.

One thing you can do to help your child over the summer is to spend time reading. This can help strengthen your child’s reading skills, both decoding and comprehending. This is also an opportunity to seek God and pursue wisdom. Reading the Bible, Bible story books, devotionals, and talking about lessons, morals, or themes from the stories we read can support this.  

Your child can read books alone, with you, you can read to your child, or your child can listen to an audiobook. You may want to visit a local library or bookstore here in Hong Kong or wherever you may be during the summer holiday. Mrs. Silber will also have a summer library book checkout in June. This is a great way to gather some good books to read and enjoy during the summer holiday. 

There are many ways to find book recommendations if you or your child are not sure what to choose. Our Head of Schools, Nick Seward, has reading recommendations for different ages which can be found on The Headmaster’s Reading List. The Elementary Library site also has a variety of recommendations. In addition, I have some recommendations of topics or genres based on some things your child will be doing or learning about at the beginning of next school year. My recommendations are as follows. 

Grade 1

Students going into grade 1 could read a variety of simple stories and picture books. Students will begin the year writing small moments, stories about one time. Reading a variety of simple stories and picture books will help students be familiar with the flow of a story with the beginning, middle, and end.

Grade 2

Students going into grade 2 could read a variety of early chapter books or series, such as Henry and Mudge by Cynthia Rylant, Nate the Great by Marjorie W. Sharmat, or Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl. Reading longer stories will help students build their reading stamina, which is important for the more complex text students will encounter in grade 2.

Grade 3

Students going into grade 3 could read a variety of fairy tales and fables. Reading fairy tales will help them have a base understanding of different stories, which will help them as they start grade 3 writing their own version of a fairy tale. Students could also read informational books about China to help them connect to the beginning of year social studies content of the geography of China.

Grade 4

Students going into grade 4 could read a variety of books about rocks and natural disasters. This would help them connect to the beginning of year science content of rock formation and earthquakes. Students could also read a variety of fictional chapter books. This would help them as they start grade 4 reading focused on the theme and finding the heart of a story.

Grade 5

Students going into grade 5 could read a variety of fiction chapter books with rich characters and complex themes, such as From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg, New From Here by Kelly Yang, or The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate. This will help students as they start the year analyzing how a character responds to challenges, point of view, and theme in their Interpretation Book Clubs.

Grade 6

Students going into grade 6 could read about mythology. Some books about mythology include 12 Labours of Heracles or Hercules, Theseus and the Minotaur, and mythology stories from different cultures. Geraldine McCaughrean has written many books about mythology for children, including Greek Myths, One Thousand and One Arabian Nights, and more. This will help students as they transition to middle school and begin grade 6 reading and writing about mythology and origins.