With summer fast approaching, mamas and their kids have visions of beach trips, bonfires, outdoor barbeques and pool days dancing in their heads. Everyone needs the break from rigid school schedules, early mornings and homework! But it’s important for kids to not completely shut their brains off for the duration of summer because as much as 25% of information learned the previous school year could be lost. Yikes! But how can parents help their children to continue learning and practicing skills while still enjoying the much-needed summer vacation? I have some tips! When I was teaching, parents always asked how they could help their kids maintain everything they learned! Remember, I lean towards organic learning as much as possible; especially during the summer when no kid on planet Earth wants to sit down and “do school stuff!” Lastly, these tips are aimed for kiddos about second grade and below. Let’s get to it …
- Reading. Obvi, right? Remember, above all else, make this fun! Visit the library, create a goal poster for how many books read over the summer and even make it a friendly competition between siblings. Choose a longer novel to read aloud as a family. Think Harry Potter or throwback to ol’ Nancy Drew books (boy that makes me nostalgic!)
- Plan trips and activities that can easily incorporate naturally-led learning. Museums are another obvious choice, but look into local activities as well. In my town, there is often a free weekly kids event that involves science, such as seed-planting or basic cooking. Also, think botanical gardens, farms and even nurseries. We once visited a nursery where the kids were given a tour of the plants and got to feed fish in a pond at the end. They left with their very own little flower to plant. How cool is that?
- Find ways to teach and learn while doing regular fun summer stuff. If you’re at the beach, count and sort your sea shells. If you’re at the pool, count your jumps into the water. When eating, talk about halves and quarters and adding and subtracting. “I have four carrot sticks. How many will I have if I eat two?” If you’re driving, encourage your kids to read signs and/or look for letters.
- Cook and bake! This is a great year-round thing to do with your kiddos, but there is so much to be learned while preparing food. Reading the recipe, following directions, measuring, fractions … the list keeps going. And it’s quality time spent with your children doing something that usually has to get done anyway! I mean, the family has to eat, right?
- Go on a nature walk and/or scavenger hunt. Talk about fun “science-y” things like plants, animals, birds, insects and the weather.
- Go through old family photo boxes and/or albums and discuss family trees and history. Pique your child’s curiosity about life from long ago and how things have changed over the years.
- Play! Yep – seriously. Let your kids play, but be intentional about playing WITH them for some of the time to guide learning. Think block or Lego building, doing puzzles, stringing beads, making jewelry, playdough, finger painting and so much more. This is where Pinterest comes into play, am I right? You can find specific ideas with materials and resources if you need it.
- Let your child pick out a learning activity book from the store (Amazon, Target, Barnes & Noble …) and let them work on it for just a little bit each day. If they get to choose the book and choose the pages to work on, it will be more enjoyable for them. Try out this Highlights Activity Book for First Graders! They have them for all grades, and they are packed full of fun and educational activities!
- Find online learning games for the laptop or ipad. The choices are endless, and we all know how much kids like some screen time.
- Family game nights! This one is so fun. If your kids are old enough for this, choose board and card games that will be fun AND incorporate learning. Here are some of my favs:
1) Life Junior
4) Uno
5) Story Dealer
Keep it light, keep it fun. Weave learning into everything you do as a family so that your children become natural learners who feel empowered to explore, question and grow. I hope you enjoy your summer and can use some of these tips to bridge the gap between school years.
xoxo,
Heidi
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