By the time the summer holidays arrive, many children are more than ready for a break. After months of school routines, homework, packed lunches and early mornings, six weeks can feel like a welcome opportunity to slow down and recharge.
For parents of children with dyslexia, however, the start of the holidays can sometimes bring mixed emotions. Alongside the excitement of family days out, holidays and a break from the usual routine, there’s often a concern sitting quietly in the background. Will reading become harder again? Will confidence dip? Will all the progress they’ve made this year disappear over the summer?
They’re understandable worries. When a child has worked hard to improve their reading, spelling or writing, it’s natural to wonder what will happen when those skills aren’t being practised every day. Children rarely lose as much as parents fear, and what often looks like lost learning is usually a temporary pause in routines.
Why Summer Can Feel Different for Children with Dyslexia
During term time, children are constantly immersed in reading, writing and language. They are reading instructions, completing tasks, listening to teachers, discussing ideas and revisiting key concepts almost every day. Many children with dyslexia benefit from this consistency because it provides regular opportunities to reinforce skills and build confidence.
When the summer holidays arrive, that structure naturally changes. Reading may happen less often, writing becomes less frequent and children spend more time engaged in activities that have little to do with the classroom. After several weeks away from formal learning, it is perfectly normal for certain skills to feel a little rusty.
By the middle of August, some parents begin to notice small changes. A child who was happily reading at bedtime in June may seem less enthusiastic. Writing feels slower. Spellings that looked secure at the end of term suddenly need more thought. It’s easy to interpret these moments as lost progress, particularly when a child has worked hard throughout the year.
Most of the time, however, children haven’t forgotten nearly as much as parents think they have. They simply need a little time to reconnect with routines and strategies that haven’t been used for several weeks. Teachers see this every September. Children often settle back into familiar patterns far more quickly than expected once school resumes.
Confidence Often Changes Before Skills Do
One of the things that frequently surprises parents is how aware children can be of their own difficulties. Long before adults raise concerns about reading or spelling, many children have already worked out which parts of the school day feel harder for them.
They notice when reading takes more effort, when a friend finishes a piece of writing more quickly or when a spelling that somebody else remembers instantly takes them several attempts to recall. After a while, these experiences can begin to shape how children see themselves as learners.
A child who regularly finds reading difficult may begin to assume they are “not a reader”. A child who struggles with spelling may become reluctant to write, not because they lack ideas, but because they are worried about getting things wrong. The challenge gradually becomes bigger than the skill itself.
This is why confidence matters so much. When confidence slips, children often become less willing to engage with the very activities that help them improve. Reading starts to feel like something to avoid rather than something to enjoy.
The summer holidays can sometimes magnify this. Without regular opportunities to experience success, some children become less sure of themselves. By September, the challenge is often not whether they can do something, but whether they still believe they can.
Parents are often surprised by how quickly confidence returns once children experience success again. A few positive reading sessions, familiar routines and supportive encouragement can make a remarkable difference.
Parents Don’t Need To Carry The Whole Summer
It’s easy to feel responsible for keeping everything moving forward during the holidays.
Many parents worry that they should be doing more. More reading. More spelling practice. More structured activities. More educational days out. When social media is full of learning ideas and summer challenges, it can sometimes feel as though every moment should be productive.
The reality for most families is rather different. Parents are juggling work, childcare, family commitments, holidays and everything else that comes with six weeks away from school. Trying to become your child’s full-time teacher on top of everything else rarely helps anyone.
Children benefit from opportunities to read, talk and explore, but that doesn’t mean every activity needs a learning objective attached to it. Some of the most valuable experiences happen naturally through everyday conversations and shared experiences.
A discussion in the car, helping to follow a recipe, reading signs on a day out or talking about a television programme all encourage children to think, listen and communicate. These moments may not look like formal learning, but they help keep language active in meaningful ways.
Keeping Reading Part of Everyday Life
One of the most helpful things parents can do during the summer is find ways to keep reading enjoyable.
For many children with dyslexia, reading already requires a considerable amount of effort. The holidays can provide an opportunity to remove some of the pressure that often surrounds it during term time.
Reading doesn’t need to mean sitting quietly with a school reading book every day. It can happen through shared stories before bed, audiobooks during long car journeys, recipes in the kitchen, instructions for a new game or information boards during a family day out.
The choice of reading material matters too. Summer can be a wonderful opportunity to move away from what children think they should be reading and towards what genuinely interests them. Football magazines, joke books, graphic novels, comics and fact books all encourage engagement with language and ideas.
Children are far more likely to pick up a book when they are interested in what they are reading. Maintaining that enjoyment often does more for long-term confidence than insisting on a particular type of text.
Keeping Skills Active Without Turning Summer Into School
Parents often ask what they should be doing over the summer to help maintain progress. It’s a reasonable question, particularly when a child has worked hard throughout the school year and confidence has taken time to build.
Supporting literacy during the holidays doesn’t need to involve hours of formal work or daily worksheets. Children are far more likely to stay engaged when activities feel enjoyable, purposeful and part of everyday life.
A few simple ideas can help keep reading, writing and language active without making the holidays feel like an extension of the classroom.
Read Alongside An Audiobook
Listening to an audiobook while following the printed text can be a fantastic way to build confidence. Children can access stories that may feel too challenging to tackle independently, while still developing vocabulary, comprehension and familiarity with written language.
Make Reading Part of Everyday Life
Reading opportunities appear more often than we sometimes realise. Menus, recipes, instructions, signs, maps and shopping lists all provide meaningful reasons to read. Many children engage more willingly when reading serves a clear purpose.
Encourage Storytelling
Literacy isn’t only about reading words on a page. Talking, explaining and storytelling all help children develop language skills. Asking children to describe a day out, retell a film or invent a story during a car journey encourages vocabulary development and sequencing skills in a natural way.
Create A Summer Memory Book
Some children enjoy collecting photographs, tickets, drawings and souvenirs from their summer activities. Adding short captions, labels or comments alongside them creates opportunities for writing without the pressure often associated with formal tasks.
Follow Their Interests
Whether a child loves football, animals, science, gaming or dance, reading becomes much easier when the subject genuinely interests them. A football magazine or graphic novel still provides valuable reading practice and often does far more to build confidence than a text a child feels they should be reading.
How We Support Dyslexic Learners At Stonefall Tutoring
Claire has worked with children for many years and understands that no two dyslexic learners are exactly the same. Some children need support with phonics and decoding, while others find spelling, writing or reading fluency more challenging. For some, the biggest barrier is confidence rather than ability.
This is why sessions are always tailored to the individual child. Claire takes the time to understand where difficulties are occurring and adapts her approach accordingly, providing clear explanations, structured support and opportunities to revisit concepts at a pace that feels manageable.
Many children with dyslexia become so focused on avoiding mistakes that they lose confidence in their own abilities. They may hesitate before answering a question, avoid reading aloud or become reluctant to attempt a piece of writing because they are worried about getting something wrong. These feelings can have a significant impact on progress if they are allowed to build over time.
At Stonefall Tutoring, creating a positive and supportive learning environment is just as important as developing literacy skills. Children are encouraged to ask questions, take their time and approach challenges without fear of making mistakes. As confidence grows, many become more willing to engage, persevere and have a go at things they may previously have avoided.
Progress rarely happens all at once. More often, it appears through small moments that gradually build momentum. A child who volunteers to read aloud, tackles a piece of writing without worrying about every spelling or starts picking up books independently is often making just as much progress as a child improving their reading age.
Many parents tell Claire that one of the biggest changes they notice is a shift in attitude. Children who were reluctant to read become more willing to pick up a book. Children who worried about getting things wrong become more prepared to have a go. Those changes don’t happen overnight, but they often provide the foundation for stronger progress both at home and in the classroom.
Looking Ahead to September
Every September brings a period of adjustment. Children are getting used to early mornings again, settling back into routines and reconnecting with the expectations of the school day. Teachers expect this and build time into the start of term to revisit key skills and help children find their rhythm again.
Parents often begin the summer worried about what their child might lose over six weeks away from school. More often than not, children return with far more intact than expected. Reading skills can be refreshed. Spelling patterns can be revisited. Familiar routines quickly reappear.
Confidence, however, is something worth protecting throughout the holidays. When children continue to enjoy stories, engage with language and feel positive about themselves as learners, they return to school ready to reconnect with the progress they made during the year. For many families, that is a far more valuable goal than trying to recreate the classroom over the summer.
Final Thoughts
Dyslexia presents challenges, but it also encourages children to develop resilience, creativity and different ways of approaching problems.
The summer holidays provide an opportunity to step away from the pressures of the school year and focus on confidence, curiosity and enjoyment. Children benefit from reading, talking, exploring and engaging with the world around them, and those experiences help create a strong foundation for the months ahead.
Parents often start the summer worried about what their child might lose over six weeks away from school. More often than not, children return in September with far more intact than expected. Reading habits can be rebuilt, spelling patterns can be refreshed and routines soon return.
Confidence, curiosity and enjoyment are often the things worth focusing on most. When those remain in place, children are usually in a strong position to pick up where they left off and continue moving forward.
