I always love summer time! The sun shines, the kids are home and we get to spend time together! It is such fun! But, as the summer goes on, it seems like we run out of ways to keep the kids busy and then we are counting the days until they are back at school. How about considering planning for summer now, so you know you have a much better summer and you can feel confident that you have some tools in your toolbox so it will be a fun experience for the entire family!
This blog post will include some opportunities that I am offering but also some ideas that you can do on your own!
I am working with Kelly Michelle Dhramashi from The Reader’s Club on Facebook. She has invited me to be a part of her FREE Parent Workshop Series. She is providing four parent workshops to provide ideas for parents of children in Kindergarten through third grade. She is giving ideas about things you can do as a family to stay engaged in summer learning. Here are the links to the first three in her four part series. I will be a part of her second workshop. I will be sharing fun and engaging ways you can keep your child engaged in math over the summer! Did I mention it is free??? Sign up to be a part of this fun learning opportunity!
Here is the information:
Kelly Michelle Dharamshi, M. Ed. is the founder of The Reader’s Club. She will be teaching you how you can help your Kindergarten or Grade 1 child strengthen their foundational reading skills, and share resources you can use to help your chid.
The workshop, Help Your Child Become a Great Reader, is on May 11 @ 6:30 pm ET.
You can register by clicking here.
Sheryl Uehling is the founder of Tutoring With Sheryl and a veteran math teacher with over 30 years of experience! She will be showing you how to use games and fun activities to strengthen your Kindergarten or Grade 1 child’s foundational math skills.
The workshop, How to Support Your Early Math Learner Over the Summer and Build Momentum for Fall Success, is on May 18 @ 6:30 pm ET.
You can register by clicking here.
Beth Dangerfield is the founder of Spark Education Services and co-founder of Flouish Pediatitric Hub. Beth uses a direct instruction literacy intervention program to help kids who are struggling readers close the gap and read at grade level and beyond. Beth helps many learners who are neurodiverse, particularly students with ADHD.
The workshop, Academic Success for Kids with ADHD, is on May 23 @ 12:00 pm ET.
Other learning opportunities that I am providing are summer math and reading adventure camps! I am offering small group sessions on Thursdays in June and July. We are going to do fun activities with math in June and reading in July. Follow this link for the details! You won’t want to miss out on the fun!
Here are some other FUN things you can do this summer to keep the learning going!
Language Arts:
Journaling is a great way to get your kids writing and thinking about the world around them. And, who doesn’t want their child writing during the summer?
Junk Journal: It is like a scrapbook that you create by using pictures from newspapers, magazines, or print outs. Kids add drawings or other items to the pictures and then they write about them. They can tell a story about them or even create poetry.
Gratitude Journal: Kids get to write about what they are thankful for. Those kiddos who love to draw can illustrate their feelings or thoughts.
Practice Typing Skills:
At some point, all kids need to learn to type. There are some free websites that will support your child as they learn to type.
education.com (With a subscription, your child can learn to type using the Brainzy gaming system that is built into the program.)
www.typing.com (You can get the free edition and your child will get to to play some games. If you purchase the premium edition for teachers, but that may also be available for homeschoolers. It may be worth a peek!)
www.typingclub.com This is a free website. It is super simple, but it will provide you with an accuracy score as well as a word per minute. I thought I typed faster, but I guess I only type 28 words per minute! Who knew?
Reading
Reading: Reading challenge for each child and then do a Read-Aloud as a family.
Give a prize at the end of summer for the winner! (Affiliate Links)
Some great summer reads for the family include: The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies (she has several other great books like, The Magic Trap, The Candy Smash, and The Bridge Battle)
And, who doesn’t LOVE Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White!
Math
Games are the big go-to for summer! (Affiliate Links)
Checkers or Chess are solid games for your child to learn that will teach them problem solving and strategies for analyzing situations! You can pick boards up at garage sales and discount stores.
Make a number line on the sidewalk using chalk, use a foam dice and have the kids roll the dice. Then they get to hop that many spaces. They can hop forward and backward on the line. Make up your own rules and have fun exercising and counting forward and backward!
Frisbee Number Toss
Take a marker and write numbers around the edges of the frisbee. When the frisbee is caught with both hands, look to see where the thumbs are closest to. The player who threw the frisbee yells out the operation (add, subtract, multiply, divide) and then the player who caught the frisbee announces the the numbers and shouts the answer before throwing the frisbee back.
Create a lemonade stand! Engineering and design, and then have them sell some from your driveway!
Science:
Science Experiments for kids
A big shout out to Coffee Cups and Crayons Blog! This is a haven for awesome science labs your family can do together, learn, and have fun! Be sure to check this website out!
https://www.coffeecupsandcrayons.com
Not into online websites for ideas and you prefer a book with ideas instead? Here are few to take a peek at! (Affiliate links)
Awesome Physics Experiments for Kids
Gardening:
Start a garden with your kids! If you don’t have space, try container gardening. Here is a great video that shows what you can do with a small outdoor space!
No room to do this outside? How about an indoor kit? My grandaughter (2 years old) has one similar to this at her home in Chicago, and they LOVE it!
Art:
If you have little ones, get an empty container, fill it up with some water. Grab some paint brushes of different sizes and go out to the sidewalk or other cemented area (your deck works as well) and let your child paint with water! This is great for motor skills and creativity.
Driveway Art:
If you aren’t opposed to some chalk on your driveway, give your child a theme (dinosaurs, farms, zoo animals, anything goes!) and let your kids get creative! Chalk is inexpensive and you can clean it up with a garden hose!
Outside:
Four Square
Classic game of four square! Use chalk to create a 2 by 2 box where players can stand. Get a rubber ball that is large enough to throw and catch for the size of the child. Players will take turns hitting the ball into the box using 1 or 2 hands (much like you would do with tennis). The other players will return the ball to another opponent’s box. If the opponent misses the ball, they step out of the boxes until one player is left. This will get the kids outside and moving!
Jump Rope
So many kids don’t know how to jump rope. Bring back this classic! Keep track of how many times your child can jump. Set goals and see if they can beat their last attempt. Try to learn double dutch. That involves at least three kids and two sets of rope. Here is a link to a YouTube video where you can watch it and try it out for yourself!
I hope these ideas will get you motivated to think about summer learning and keeping your children’s minds active and learning! For more information about Tutoring with Sheryl, be sure to visit https://midwesttutor.com/home-2
Tutoring with Sheryl 