Avoiding the Summer Learning Slump

My brothers and I recently went to breakfast during a week when we all visited my father in our home town. As we usually do when we visit home, we reminisced about our childhood, fun events, and experiences we have reminisced many times. Since we were visiting during the summer months, we talked about summer street fairs, days spent biking around the neighborhood, playing street hockey and basketball at the local park, and cookouts in our backyard. We also discussed my mom and how she organized our summer experience. We didn’t realize it then, but the experience she gave us is one that I have shared with countless families in my role as a school principal, as it ensured a strong balance of fun, responsibility, and learning.

How Parents Can Structure Time

One of the pitfalls of the summer is the abundance of free time kids have. As parents, we must be intentional about helping kids fill that time when they are young so they build the life habits they need to lead productive lives as teens and adults. My mom had the perfect approach that kept my brothers and me productive, but allowed us to have a healthy balance of fun. She made sure that we had daily tasks or chores to complete. We had limited screen time and we always had time and resources for reading.

The Value of Chores

For chores, we had a list of To Dos that she wrote and had on the counter before we even woke up. We got breakfast, were able to relax a bit, but then we had to get started on our chores. These included cleaning, organizing, and helping out with all the yard work. Each day was different, but we knew the routine and were able to do the things we wanted to do once the work was done. This was not only effective for running our household, but it also helped us learn the important life lesson of not procrastinating or putting off what needs to get done first.

Coupon Time Rewards

Although my childhood was in the 80s and 90s, and screens were far less ubiquitous than they are these days, we did have a TV and a computer. There was still plenty of entertainment between movies, TV, and games that could easily fill a day, but mom created coupons for us. When we finished the chores for the day, we earned 30 minutes of screen time. We could earn extra time, up to 90 minutes per day, by doing extra chores or by doing extra reading. She also encouraged us to save our screen time so we could watch a movie as a family a couple of times a week. We often saved our minutes so we could participate in the family movie time.

Reading for Fun

In terms of summer learning, she made sure that we were always prepared to read. Each year on the first day of summer, we would go to the book store and each of us would get to buy a couple of books. We also took regular visits to the library so we could supplement our book collection. This helped if we didn’t make the best book choice at the beginning of the summer, or if we got through our original book selections quickly. As part of our summer requirements, we were expected to read for at least 30 minutes per day.

Creating Meaningful Summers

Finally, and possibly most important, we were not allowed to say we were bored. We had chores, earned screen time, enjoyed a room full of books, and explored the wonderful outdoors. If she heard us say we were bored, even if it was not said directly to her, she would fill the entertainment void with more chores. We learned quickly to find new adventures outside, or to enjoy more relaxation time reading our books.

I am eternally grateful for the summers my mother designed for my brothers and me. As I now try to create meaningful summers for my daughter, I realize the effort and planning my mom had to put in to make sure our summers were time well spent. I appreciate the life lessons she taught us without my brothers and me even being aware of the lesson at the time. I encourage all parents to think about how you can structure summers for your kids. And as you design what works best for you and your family, remember to always include summer reading!

10 Summer Outdoor Activities That Build English Language Skills

10 Summer Outdoor Activities That Build English Language Skills

Summer is one of the most powerful seasons for growing language skills, especially for children learning English. As a teacher, I’ve seen firsthand how stepping outside can lower pressure, increase engagement, and create meaningful opportunities for authentic language use. Nature gives us built-in vocabulary, real experiences to talk about, and endless chances to practice listening and speaking in a natural way.

For students learning English, language grows best through real-life experiences, not just worksheets. Summer offers families a chance to build those experiences together. The best part? You don’t need anything fancy—just time outside, curiosity, and conversation.

Here are 10 simple, practical ways parents and grandparents can build English while enjoying the outdoors:

Take “talk walks”
Go for a walk and intentionally talk about what you see, hear, and feel. Use simple, descriptive language: “The grass feels soft,” “I see a tall tree,” “The bird is flying.” Encourage your child to repeat or add on.
Name and describe everything
Nature is full of vocabulary. Point out objects and describe them using color, size, and shape: “small rock,” “bright yellow flower,” “long stick.” This builds both vocabulary and sentence structure.
Use the “I notice, I wonder” strategy
Say, “I notice the clouds are gray. I wonder if it will rain.” Then invite your child to try. This builds both expressive language and critical thinking.
Create a scavenger hunt
Make a simple list: leaf, bug, flower, something smooth, something rough. As your child finds each item, have them say the word and describe it. This adds repetition and meaningful use of new words.
Practice verbs in action
Summer is perfect for movement. Use action words while playing: run, jump, dig, pour, splash. Model sentences like, “You are running fast!” Verbs are essential for building strong sentences.
Tell simple stories about your day
After being outside, talk about what you did in order: “First we walked, then we saw a dog, and last we played.” This helps children practice sequencing and past tense language.
Sing songs and rhymes outdoors
Songs build rhythm, pronunciation, and memory. Try repeating simple songs while swinging, walking, or playing. Repetition helps language stick.
Ask open-ended questions
Instead of yes/no questions, ask: “What did you see?” “Why do you think that happened?” “How did it feel?” Give your child time to respond, even if it takes a little longer.
Encourage home language connections
If your family speaks another language, use it! Talk about nature in both languages. This strengthens overall language development and helps children make connections between words and ideas.
Model, don’t correct
If your child makes a mistake, respond by modeling the correct sentence instead of correcting directly. For example, if they say, “Dog run fast,” you can respond, “Yes, the dog is running fast!” This keeps communication positive and supportive.

The goal isn’t perfection—it’s interaction. Language grows through connection, shared experiences, and conversation. When children feel relaxed and engaged, they are more willing to take risks and try new words.

So this summer, step outside. Slow down. Talk more. Listen closely. Whether you’re at a park, in your backyard, or just walking around the block, you’re creating powerful opportunities for language growth—one conversation at a time.

Collaborating with Teachers

As a new teacher, I believe collaborating with other teachers and leaning on veteran colleagues is crucial to surviving your first year as a teacher or your first year at a new school.

Be Curious About Your Environment

Approach everything with humility.
Absorb as much as possible about the school culture, especially the language they use for students schoolwide (follow the ABCs, follow the 4C’s).
Get to know your neighboring teachers.
Get to know your grade level team. Ask how they work together and understand their collaboration style. Are they open to meeting anytime? Do they prefer to plan on their own and only meet together to discuss assessments?

Ask a Lot of Questions

Don’t be afraid of asking questions.
You will have colleagues that welcome you warmly and extend a hand for any questions you may have.
Learn about the routines for the first day of school, or the pathway to walk students to recess and lunch.
Throughout the year, ask for various teachers’ perspectives about their approach to bathroom usage or their rules for online games.

Meet Together with Your Induction Mentor Weekly

Prepare for these meetings. Write down questions about procedures and classroom management challenges.
Share your successes and challenges when implementing curriculum from various subjects.
Ask for specific resources to enhance teaching specific subjects.
Bring examples of student work that include both successes and challenges for added support.
Build a portfolio of student work with the mentor’s feedback.

Seek Support from the Principal

Build a healthy rapport with the principal during staff meetings and individual check-ins.
Seek guidance when peers and the induction mentor recommend that you reach out to the principal for added support.
Support and implement the recommendations that the principal gives during classroom observations.

Share Resources and Ideas

It is better to collaborate than to reinvent the wheel every single time.
Collaborating with other teachers allows for novel activities to be created that meet the needs of specific classes.
Take initiative with the team in sharing unit ideas and helping develop them into teachable modules. Examples might include locating digital resources, assembling templates, and creating art projects that teachers can use with students.

These are examples of successes in working together with colleagues to create a purposeful learning environment that inspires the students to reach their highest potential.

First Year of Teaching 4th Grade

As the summer break begins and my first year of teaching in the classroom closes, I am reflecting on all the experiences I’ve had and the opportunities I’ve gained in the past year. With a goal of a healthy school environment in mind, I have implemented a lot of strategies in order to ensure the most nurturing and structured classroom that I could provide. Summarized below are some of my greatest successes during my first year as a 4^th grade teacher.

Attention Getters

“If you can hear me clap once” or “If you can hear me say”
Clicking together two sticks to get their attention allowed me to use my music background to introduce different beats. This also worked on their muscle coordination and sense of timing!

Table Points

At the end of the week, the table with the most points would each get a sticker and select a classroom plushie for the group desk. Tables with the most points often were:

First to give me their attention.
First to clean their desks.
On task all together.

Tables would lose points if they were off task, not being collaborative, or respectful. However, they all had chances to gain these points back. Class points earned through collective teamwork would gain a free choice period on Friday.

Bathroom Use

Students received a reminder to use the bathroom before school, at recess, after completing the daily mile, and during lunch.
Two tickets a day were initially distributed to students needed to use the restroom during class instruction.
Bathroom partners for outside door access were monitored by the teacher.

Tutoring Methods to Reinforce Differentiated Instruction

More advanced students helped others once they finished their own work.
Other teachers used these advanced students to guide challenged students to complete their assignments before working on their own assignment.
Students who needed more support would sit at a semicircle desk and tutor each other as I worked with an individual student.

Students with Behavior Challenges

I engaged the staff for assistance and evaluation. The school principal and school psychologist were instrumental in providing added support and resources.
It is important to take the time to understand what motivates each student to feel empowered. One emotionally challenged student found that poetry provided the outlet to self-regulate and for self-expression.
I established respectful relationships with families so that students felt safe with consistent expectations. Some teachers established relationships with families prior to the start of the school year through phone calls.
Follow-up with parents continued with Back to School Nights and Goal-Setting Conferences.

Keeping the Students Engaged

As the school year progressed, students became more motivated to work together as a team when I consciously created units of learning that were project based and loaded with creative crafts and activities. Some activities included:

Collaborative social studies units were created with poster summaries and student illustrations.
Nature scene painting was developed by making paints with natural resources such as grass crushed from rocks, turmeric, charcoal powder, fresh roses, and butterfly pea flower tea.
A ruler and protractor were used to showcase knowledge of lines and angles as students designed an abstract piece of art.
A narrative story was written by each student that was inspired by a standards aligned historical fiction book.
Comics were created by students based on a reading assignment. A sample comic picture was projected on the screen and the students would collectively summarize what the passage picture represented. Then the students would create their own comic picture with their own summaries.

As I reflect on my first year of teaching, I am excited about how much I learned along with the students as they mastered their reading, writing, math, science, and social studies projects.

How Students Can Self-Assess Their Writing

In my previous blog post, I described how our primary grade students completed a 10-page report primarily in their own words on mud and soil. Our team then completed a Mud Report Student Evaluation for each student that highlighted their abilities to complete their mud report.

Five Mud Report Components

Listed below are the five questions that were used to evaluate each student with comments on each student’s report:

Did the student research and copy text on the internet and from books with ease?
Did the student write the report from multiple sources and combine information without help?
Did the student blend information from various sources and apply what was read to personal life experiences and other experiences?
Did the student work diligently with ease on the project?
Is the report’s content, spelling, punction, and printing easy to read?

Student Levels of Accomplishment

We them rated these skills at the following four levels of accomplishment on each report component with comments based on the common core standards for primary grade students:

Level 1 Learning Basics: Student researched and copied nonfiction text on a topic in books and on the internet with lots of help. Student wrote the report with difficulty and help. Content, spelling, punctuation, and printing were hard to read.

Level 2 Demonstrates Understanding: Student researched and copied nonfiction text on a topic in books and on the internet with some help. Student wrote the report and blended some information with some difficulty and help. Content, spelling, punctuation, and printing were sometimes hard to read.

Level 3 Modifying Basics: Student researched and copied nonfiction text on a topic in books and on the internet without help. Student wrote the report from multiple sources and blended and applied some information in the report. Student worked diligently with ease. Content, spelling, punctuation, and printing were easy to read.

Level 4 Emerging Expert: Student researched and copied nonfiction text on a topic in books and on the internet with ease. Student wrote the report from multiple sources and extensively blended and applied information in the report. Student worked diligently with ease. Content, spelling, punctuation, and printing were easy to read.

Students’ Responses to Their Evaluation Comments

As we completed a rating for each student, we qualified the rating with personalized comments that focused on specific skills achieved when completing various report assignments. Students were very excited when we described specific behaviors and skill building attributes to specific examples captured in their 10-page reports.

Most were shocked that we actually read their reports and took the time to show them how to punctuate their reports correctly. Many are still learning how to self-edit their work and are surprised that we observed this amount of detail in our review of their work. Other students could not believe that they were working beyond their grade level in writing. We explained that the more they were able to synthesize their work and apply their writing to daily experiences and observations, the higher level writing they were able to create independently.

Challenged students were very excited that they were able to complete this very demanding assignment regardless of how much help we provided them. They want to slow down, print more carefully, and learn to self-edit. I encouraged these students to read parts of a story or nonfiction information daily and practice rewriting small passages daily in a journal. Through practice, these students will become self-confident writers. The more students expose themselves to difficult articles and books, the more confident they will become when completing challenging assignments.

What We Learned

We have been using this assignment and customized rubric for three years with multiple classes. Each year we become more successful in increasing students’ skill levels at a faster pace than previous years. I think we just keep learning how to teach better and more confidently as we coach students to integrate nonfiction informational writing with daily life experiences and observations.

We Are Here to Help

If you and your students or children want to learn how to evaluate writing assignments, you may be interested in reading Student-Engaged Assessment: Strategies to Empower All Learners by Laura Greenstein and Mary Ann Burke. Our team is available to provide trainings to your schools and teachers. You can contact us on our blog site under the comments section on the lower part of the blog page. Also, if you are interested in a simplified approach to teaching students about mud at the first or second grade level, we have posted an online book link on Magnificent Magical Mud by Mary Ann Burke at the bottom of our blog site. This online book includes simple writing assignments for students and children. Much success in the great adventure of student led learning through self-assessment.