Editor's Note: Parents have repeatedly expressed to me concerns over the years about keeping their child's skills and learning fresh over the summer. Here are some great offerings to pass on to your student's parents.
Parents are always concerned that their child will spend the three summer months away from school playing and that everything the child learned during the school year will be forgotten. Children, however, can't wait for their summer vacation to have fun and take a break from the structure of school. Is it possible to accommodate both agendas? Yes!
Many simple activities that kids love are also terrific for developing key learning skills. The trick may be for parents to avoid stressing the learning part and allow their children to focus on the fun. In other words, children don't want to do book reports in the summer, but trips to the library and reading are fun.
It is equally important for parents to help children see that learning occurs in all types of settings and is a lifetime activity.
So consider planning some activities for your children that will both develop a wide range of skills and knowledge and be fun for all of you.
For example, many of the games you can play with your children while on a car trip promote key learning objectives. Finding things outside the car window that correspond with each letter of the alphabet will reinforce the alphabet and will also help young children remember the labels for things. Making bubbles with various types of household gadgets promotes creativity and helps children distinguish shapes.
For school-age children, an activity such as Spicey Sprouts, will encourage them to observe and keep written records of plants. If they were in school, this would be a journal activity designed to promote observation skills, language and thinking, but at home it will simply seem like fun.
Activities:
Alphabet Game
Ages:
3-5, 6-8, 9-11
Location:
Car
Skills:
Language, Thinking
Background:
This is a classic game that can be played anywhere. It'll get your kids to think creatively and work on their vocabularies.
What to do:
There are numerous variations to this game. Start by saying, "Mommy went to the grocery store and bought apples." Then ask the children to add to the list something bought at the grocery store that starts with the letter B such as "blueberries." The next player continues with the letter C and so forth.
Bubbles
Ages:
3-5
Location:
Kitchen, Outdoors
Skills:
Thinking, Physical
What you'll need:
A dishpan or large bowl
Liquid dish soap
Food coloring
Plastic cups
Paper towel
Various plastic or wooden toys
Background:
Indoors or out, children can be kept busy and happy experimenting with a plastic dishpan containing a few inches of water and things to pour, fill, empty, float and sink. An extra dishpan in the sink or on a table or counter can keep the child occupied while you work in the kitchen, cooking or cleaning up.
Spicey Sprouts
Ages:
6-8, 9-12
Location:
Indoors, Outdoors
Skills:
Science
What you'll need:
Clear jar or glass
Absorbent paper towels
Spray water bottle
Whole-seed spices or herbs (such as celery, poppy, sesame, fennel)
Background:
This simple activity shows children how easy it is to grow and care for their own mini-garden. Once you've experimented with one type of sprout, try another and observe the differences. Label each new jar and you'll soon have a pantry full of fresh herbs and spices.
