Summer Reading (braille)

By: Carmen Willings
teachingvisuallyimpaired.com
​Updated June 18, 2025
As another school year comes to a close and summer quickly approaches, you may be wondering how to help your child maintain their braille reading skills. The good news? You don’t need to be fluent in braille yourself to support your child’s literacy! Summer is a wonderful opportunity to build your child’s reading skills, foster a love of books, and explore literacy in fun, meaningful ways.

Environmental Braille

Children who are blind don’t naturally encounter environmental print the way sighted peers do. That's why it’s important to intentionally point out braille in everyday settings such as:
  • Elevators, hotel rooms, and restaurant menus
  • Museum exhibits and public signage
  • Tactile room numbers and restroom labels
Tip: Request braille menus when dining out—even if they’re not always available, it teaches your child to self-advocate.

Label Your Home

If you haven’t already labeled household items, now is a great time! Consider:
  • Labeling clothing drawers or bins
  • Adding braille to movie or CD collections
  • Creating a braille phone book with friends’ names and numbers
  • Reviewing and labeling your child’s current clothing during summer closet clean-outs
Ask your child’s Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI) for help or consider using a braille labeler to create your own. 

Organize a Braille “Literacy Box”

Create a summer braille literacy bin that includes:
  • Braille books (audio or hard copy)
  • Slate and stylus
  • Braille playing cards
  • Tactile graphics or puzzles
  • Sticky braille labels
  • Fun writing prompts or journal pages

Make Time to Read Daily

Daily reading is essential—especially for braille learners during extended school breaks. While you may not be able to run to the local bookstore or library, there are plenty of resources to keep books in your child’s hands.
Free or Low-Cost Braille Book Resources:
  • National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) – Free braille and audio book lending
  • Seedlings Braille Books for Children – Over 1,200 low-cost braille books
  • Braille Bookstore – Affordable leisure and educational titles
  • APH’s Dolly Parton Imagination Library – Free books (print, braille, or audio) for young children with visual impairments
Set a Summer Reading Routine or Challenge
  • Create a braille reading log or tracker to encourage consistent reading habits.
  • Start a "book bingo" or summer reading challenge with rewards (e.g., stickers, a new book, a fun outing).
  • Include read-aloud time even if the child is an independent reader—it builds vocabulary and listening comprehension.
Pro tip: Let your child choose books based on their interests. Motivation is key to engagement!

Build a Digital Audio/Braille Library

Explore apps and services like:
  • Bookshare
  • Reading Ally
  • BARD Mobile (through NLS)
These platforms offer thousands of audio and braille-accessible books. While access to embossed braille requires a braille embosser or refreshable braille display, audio formats are widely accessible.
Engage your child by discussing the books you listen to together—talk about the characters, predict what might happen next, and reflect on the story afterward.

Peer Connection & Book Clubs

  • Coordinate a summer braille pen pal or virtual book club through your TVI, local blindness organizations, or Facebook groups.
  • Join national or local summer reading programs designed for students with visual impairments (e.g., Seedlings’ annual Summer Reading Program).

Encourage Creative Braille Writing Projects

  • Start a summer journal in braille.
  • Encourage writing short stories, scripts, or book reviews.
  • Try writing braille poetry or creating tactile books for younger siblings or friends.

Write Summer Postcards in Braille

Bring along a slate and stylus during family trips—it's compact, portable, and a perfect tool for writing postcards! Postcards made from medium to heavy cardstock are great for brailling.
Encourage your child to:
  • Describe their trip highlights
  • Write to family or friends
  • Use both braille and print so all recipients can enjoy them
Even if your child is still developing their skills, praise the effort—writing takes practice!

​Play Braille-Friendly Games

​Games build literacy and social skills. Popular games like UNO and standard playing cards are available in braille. You can also adapt your child’s favorite games with:
  • Braille labelers
  • Puffy paint
  • Textured stickers
Game time is fun, interactive, and reinforces braille through play!

Learn Braille Together

​Why not learn alongside your child? Braille is a logical code that many find enjoyable to explore—especially when approached like a puzzle.
Recommended Resources:
  • Just Enough to Know Better by Eileen Curran – A family-friendly guide with flashcards
  • Quick Pick (from APH) – Ask your child’s TVI about borrowing this interactive game
  • Braille Bug (by AFB) – Fun for siblings to explore braille through games and challenges
Learning braille as a family can create shared understanding and encourage your child to take pride in their skills.

​Lending Libraries and Book Sources

  • National Library Service (NLS): Already mentioned, but consider linking directly to the application page.
  • Braille Institute: Offers free braille books and programs, including youth-focused services.
  • Future Reflections (NFB): Free magazine for parents of blind children with articles and tips.
  • Paths to Literacy: Excellent blog-style resource with activity ideas, family-friendly tips, and free printables.

Podcasts and Audio Storytelling

  • Try podcasts like “Brains On!”, “Story Pirates,” or “Circle Round” for rich audio storytelling with interactive discussion.
  • Some services offer described-only audio, useful for reinforcing descriptive language and spatial concepts.

Bonus Ideas

  • Tech Practice Goals: Set a summer goal like learning a keyboard command on a braille display or creating a short story in digital braille.
  • STEM and Braille: Look into coding tools like Code Jumper (early coding) or Quorum (for older students who use screen readers/braille).
  • Tactile Field Trips: Seek out hands-on or multisensory experiences: Children's museums with tactile exhibits, Living history farms or petting zoos, Touch tours at museums or zoos (many offer accessible options if requested in advance), Nature walks using scavenger hunts that focus on sound, texture, and smell (e.g., "find something smooth, something crunchy, something soft...")
  • Summer Braille Craft Projects: Incorporate braille into fun art and craft projects: Create braille greeting cards for birthdays or holidays; Make tactile nameplates or “do not disturb” signs for bedroom doors; Design braille bookmarks with favorite quotes or names; or Create a braille calendar for the summer or for an upcoming birthday countdown.
With a little planning and creativity, summer can be a joyful time of exploration, growth, and connection through braille. Encourage your child to read, write, play, and discover—with your support and enthusiasm guiding the way!

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