Just because Roslyn Chun's two sons are out of school for the next six weeks doesn't mean that their reading habits will be on vacation, too.

Instead, Chun, of 'Aina Hina, is keeping her sons busy with lots of summer activities, and, of course, books.

"There is a lot of downtime in the summer, and not getting enough reading done does worry me a little," she said.

Chun said she tries to set aside time for her sons to get their daily dose of books.

"For my younger one, he just finished kindergarten, we read to him automatically every night before he goes to bed," she said. "For my older one, it's a little more challenging."

It's the summer weeks that educators say are a critical time for students to practice reading skills to prevent what teachers call the dreaded "summer reading loss."

With the mall, the Internet, Nintendo Wii and the beach all calling, kids often find it hard to pick up a book — which can see them lagging behind when the school bell rings in the fall.

Petra Schatz, language arts specialist with the state Department of Education, said teachers often spend a lot of time at the start of the school year helping students play catch-up with their reading skills.

"It's the ones who aren't reading (in the summer) who will be more likely to slip behind," she said.

FUN, NOT FORCED

Luckily, this summer is slightly shortened, with public school students returning to school at the end of July. Even so, Schatz said, that is plenty of time for kids to neglect reading.

Instead of forcing kids to pick up a book, Schatz suggests "fostering a love for reading" by emphasizing pleasure reading.

Do that by allowing children to choose books they might be interested in, possibly books based on movies and television shows or books that relate to your child's hobbies.

For Chun's eldest, Korey, who'll be entering the seventh grade, the "Pidgin to da Max" books are a hit.

"It's not something he would read in school," said Chun, "but he enjoys it."

Like Chun, many parents are looking for ways to replace the Xbox controller with a book.

Anita Grover, whose son Riley will enter first grade at Jefferson Elementary School next year, likes to visit the WaikikiKapahulu Public Library at least once a week.

"We just got him his own library card and he just started reading chapter books for kids," she said.

Riley enjoys Mary Pope Osborne's "Magic Tree House" books, which run about 70 to 90 pages.

"We're very big readers in my family, so when I'm reading a novel or something, he'll sit down and read one of his books," she said. "We read at night for about 45 minutes."

Most of Riley's computer games are also educational, making playtime an opportunity for him to work on his ABCs and reading skills, Grover said.

LOVES SCARY STORIES

Korey Chun, who'll start seventh grade at Niu Valley Middle School in a few weeks, said he reads in addition to participating in a summer acting program at Diamond Head Theatre.

"Sometimes I'll read to my younger brother, too," he said.

Korey said he mostly chooses mystery or scary stories and has been participating in the library's summer reading program, which encourages students to read at least one book a week.

His mother said she tries to get Korey to read before engaging in other free-time activities.

"He really enjoys reading, but I always remind him that if you want to watch TV, read first. Or if you want to play a game on the computer, get some reading done first," she said.

The tactic pays off.

"Time spent reading is the best predictor of reading achievement," said Schatz.

Most schools make a special push for reading as summer approaches. Many schools send home summer reading lists, and promote library card enrollment and participation in the state library's summer reading program.

Vivian Hee, principal at Jefferson Elementary School, said her school invited a librarian from the Waikiki-Kapahulu library to visit the school as the year was ending.

"We had an assembly," she said, "and I told (the students) not to be couch potatoes this summer."

Reach Loren Moreno at lmoreno@honoluluadvertiser.com.