Fun Summer Learning
Educational activities to keep your child sharp during summer break
Do your child's plans for his or her summer break include little more than watching TV and hanging out with friends? While every child deserves a break from the pressures of the school year, providing children learning opportunities during the summer combats summertime regression-and it's easier than one might think to come up with great ideas. How do parents develop their own list of ideas? Take your child's lead-what is his or her favorite subject? What kinds of sports or books or other hobbies is he or she into? Also be sure to ask your child's teacher for suggestions. For starters, here are five fun, enriching and educational summertime activities:
Scrapbook together. Whether your family has a summer vacation planned or you have a box full of pictures of your child and his or her friends from the school year, creating a scrapbook is fun and artistic-and an excellent way for your child to practice writing and improve organizational skills. If creating a vacation scrapbook, your child can use mementos and brochures from places you visited to write captions to describe your travels.
Create a family book club. Rather than just set reading goals for your child, why not make summer reading a family goal and start a book club? Let your child choose the first book and set a book club date for discussion-maybe at your child's favorite restaurant or ice cream shop. Your book selections, too, should be grade-level appropriate and appealing to your child. Exploring your child's favorite book genres is a great way to understand him or her better while also getting a sense for his or her reading ability.
Explore your town or city. If you've never visited your local visitor center (or chamber of commerce), summer is an ideal time to do so to learn about the attractions and events in your community. Zoos, museums of nature, science, art and history, and cultural arts centers are great places, but you and your child might also consider taking a walking tour to learn about the history of your area, spending an afternoon strolling through the nearby arts district, or grabbing a guidebook and heading to that natural rock formation hiking area he or she has often asked you about.
Get out the map. Teach your child about geography by pulling out an atlas or a globe and plotting out where friends and family members live across the country and around the world. Or, plan a weekend or day trip somewhere and let your child plan and map the route. How long will it take you to reach your destination 200 miles away if you're driving 60 miles an hour (and stop for lunch)?
Plant a garden. Take a trip to the local nursery or home improvement store and talk with a horticulturist about planting a garden. Have your child dig up a sample of your soil to bring along and do a little research beforehand on the National Gardening Association website (www.garden.org) or their kids' website (www.kidsgardening.org). What kind of flowers, vegetables and fruits would your child like to grow? Will those plants thrive in your climate's hardiness zone? Gardening is not only educational; it teaches children about the cycles of life and the benefits of healthy eating.
No matter what you and your child do this summer, the key lesson is that life is about learning-and learning can happen anyplace, anytime. Not all learning takes place in school. Encourage your child to be open to learning about new things, no matter what time of year it may be.
