Nanny to Mommy

As a parent, there’s nothing more heart-wrenching than watching your child struggle — especially when it comes to reading. If your child is reading below grade level or battling low confidence with books, summer can feel like a ticking clock. But here’s the good news: with a simple summer reading plan, you can help your child grow their reading skills, boost their confidence, and maybe even learn to love reading.

If your child is like my son — held back in third grade and just wrapping up fourth — and reading feels more like a chore than a joy, you are not alone. Many 4th and 5th grade students are still building the foundational skills they need to be fluent, confident readers. And summer is a perfect time to slow down and focus without the pressure of classroom comparisons.

Let’s walk through a realistic, encouraging, and parent-friendly summer reading curriculum for struggling readers — especially kids around age 10–11.

Why Is My 4th Grader Struggling With Reading?

Add in our 2025 goal of paying off debt and cutting down on takeout, and suddenly home-cooked meals have become a must, not a luxury. With inflation making restaurant prices soar, meal prepping has become one of the smartest strategies for saving money and staying sane.

Enter: this super simple, sweet-and-savory Crockpot Pineapple Chicken. It’s one of my go-to freezer dump meals that takes maybe 10 minutes of prep time, and I almost always have the ingredients on hand—especially when my husband impulse-buys multiple pineapples because they were "on sale." (Guess who ends up cutting them up?)

Crockpot Pineapple Chicken