The program rewards children, who read 10 books during the summer, with a $10 deposit into a new or existing Young Saver account. Last year 31,823 children participated in the program and read 318,230 books, earning $318,230 for their Young Saver accounts.
Suzanne Poole, TD Bank’s Executive Vice President of Retail Sales Strategy, said parents should “Read stories with your child and ask questions about the stories afterward. Also, let your child choose which books they want to read, as they will be more likely to continue reading books with subjects in which they are interested. And finally, encourage children to read books that have movies made about them, such as Harry Potter. After your children are finished reading the book, watch the movie together to compare and contrast the two.The key is to keep your children engaged.”
Additional tips to make summer reading more enjoyable for children include:
• Encourage your child to say familiar words and phrases out loud.• Practice sounding out words your child may have difficulty reading.
• Provide the word your child is struggling with so that he or she does not become frustrated and lose the enjoyment of the experience.
• Repeat reading the story, asking your child what he or she enjoys most about the story and its characters.
“Studies show that kids who read several books during the summer maintain or surpass the reading skills achieved during the previous school year,” said Elizabeth K. Warn, president of the TD Charitable Foundation and Senior Vice President of Community Development for TD Bank. “Through our Summer Reading Program, as well as our financial literacy initiatives, TD Bank encourages children to improve their reading levels while learning about the importance of spending and saving money wisely.”
Recommended books for kids’ summer reading lists include “If You Made a Million”, by David M. Schwartz; “The Can Man”, by Laura E. Williams; “Lemonade for Sale”, by Stuart J. Murphy; “Willie Wins”, by Almira Astudillo Gilles; “Jelly Beans for Sale”, by Bruce McMillan; “Pig Pig Gets a Job”, by David M. McPhail; “Make Four Million Dollars by Next Thursday”, by Stephen Manes; “A Dollar for Penny”, by Julie Glass; and “Money Trouble”, by Bill Cosby.
The Summer Reading Program ends Sept. 30.
Visit www.tdbank.com/summerreading for more information.