Avoid the Summer Slide!
Ah…summer time. A time for sleeping in, swimming in the pool, playing video games, and sipping ice-cold lemonade! While a mental break from school is much needed and well deserved, you’ve probably also heard warnings to avoid the “summer slide” – the tendency to lose some academic gains during the summer. So, how do you keep kids actively involved in learning throughout the summer while having some fun in the process? Here are a few ideas for inspiration.
Read Every Day
One of the easiest ways to keep up kids’ academic skills is to read. Take a look at some of my previous recommendations about using the library in my previous article.
A little short on time? Need something quick at your fingertips? Or maybe you’re going on a trip and don’t want to pack books in your luggage? Check out these websites or download their apps to your phone. You can easily access interesting articles or watch informative videos. Then have your kids take the short quiz at the end (see the Dogonews, Newsela, Scholastic, BrainPop websites).
Scavenger Hunt
If your kids are feeling bored, invite some friends over for a scavenger hunt at the local park. Before guests arrive, have your kids write some clues for friends to follow. Then, set them free to enjoy the great outdoors!
Do you have older kids? Try this modification at the mall – Give kids a modest budget and set them on a scavenger hunt to make the best purchase (deepest discount) or the most items purchased with that same amount of money. You can bet they’ll be practicing mental math to factor sales discounts and tax percentages into their purchases.
Cook Together
Give kids some real-life lessons and teach them to cook a simple recipe. Share a favorite traditional recipe for some family bonding time. Read the cooking directions and have them follow the steps. Having guests over? This would be a great opportunity to use multiplication to double those measurements. Need to cut the recipe in half? Time to brush up on dividing fractions!
Which one of these activities will you try today? Or share your ideas in the comments below!
Enjoy your summer play!
Jaime
Copyright (c) 2017 by GenParenting
Discovering the joy of teaching while in high school, Jaime pursued her B.A. in English at Santa Clara University. She also received a teaching credential and a M.A. in Education Administration from Santa Clara University. Jaime taught English Language Arts at Rancho Middle School, motivating and inspiring young people to become effective communicators and contributors in their community. From being a Middle School English Language Arts/English Language Development teacher to becoming a stay-at home mom, Jaime is an education consultant who presents literacy workshops. Her workshops focus on a combination of her ten years of teaching expertise with tried-and-true experiences that she uses with her own children. Jaime is also a Teacher Consultant with the San Jose Area Writing Project. Jaime’s mission is to share effective reading and writing strategies with families to encourage literacy.
Thank you Jaimie. I love the flexibility and clarity of your suggestions. I will remind parents about them.