Fairfax County Summer Reading Program

Laura Schwartz is a licensed Realtor in VA, D.C. and MD with McEnearney Associates in McLean. Reach the office at 703-790-9090.

We are so close to the end of the school year and that beloved and sacred summer time!

Avoiding the “summer slide” as experts call it, means getting kids to keep reading over the summer to keep their skills sharp. Our wonderful local Fairfax County Library can help avoid the slide.

Starting on June 13, the last day of school for Fairfax County, you can sign kids up for the Summer Reading Adventure. I’ll detail the rules below, but the idea is the kids sign up and commit to reading a certain number of books before August 31 and in the end they get rewarded with a free coupon book to local places.

Basics:

• Babies through rising 3rd graders: read 15 books (including being read to)
• Rising 4th & 5th graders: read 10 books
• Teens in rising grades 6-12: read 5 books

Prize:

Over 20 businesses have provided coupons for free and discounted items. See a full list here. Examples include free Rita’s, Free Potomac Nationals tickets, Free Comic Book, free laser tag game from Shadowland and more.

In addition to reading, there are events and contests all summer.

• Chris Michael Magic
• Interact Story Theatre
• Groovy Nate
• Henna Harmony

Contests for teens:

• Essay/poetry contest for rising 7th, 8th and 9th graders
• Teen Film Festival
• Teen Cover Art Contest

Download the reading log for babies — 5th graders.

Download the teen reading log.

Read more on the Summer Reading Adventure or find your nearest library.