It is always a challenge to keep children learning when it’s summer time. My own children are glued to their computer games. When they are not on the computer, they are swimming in the pool. Traditional learning is hard to compete with summer activities, but it’s important to keep up with today’s rigor. Here is a list of great oral and physical activities to keep your children engaged in learning:
1.Pudding Painting is one of my favorites for children to use to learn sight words. Spread pudding on the bottom of a cooking sheet pan. Call out a sight word and have them write it in the pudding. If they get it right, they get to lick their finger.
2.Have your child sort laundry by color or size before you wash them. Let them pour in the soap with your supervision as a reward.
3.Ask your child to skip count to 100. Then count by 5’s to 100. Tell them this joke they can use with friends. “I bet you I can count to 100 in 10 seconds or less.” When someone excepts the challenge, they can count by 10s to 100.
4.Teach your child to set the table. Have them count all the silverware. Reinforce the “game” by offering desert for the right answer. Continue with counting other objects, like plates, cups or placemats.
5.Children love to paint! Give them water colors and paper outside. Let them go crazy with splattering/flicking paint on the paper. This gets their creative juices flowing! I use to let my kids pain their play house with water colors. When it rains, it come right off.
6.Encourage your child to tell you the months of the year, and the days of the week in order. High five them for reinforcement.
7.Tell your child they can only watch TV or play a video game if they can tell you the time on the clock. (not digital…) 😉
8.What kid doesn’t like to make things with dried pasta. Take a cup full of various pasta and first have them sort them into piles by shape. (You can use food coloring to make them different colors, if you are that kind of special parent.) Then have them glue the pasta on construction paper to make a picture.
9.Father’s Day is often overlooked during the school year, so let your child use your ipad or phone to record their voice and send a special message to dad.
10.Encourage your child to come up with words that rhyme with ones you say (e.g. cake, make, rake), then have them use the words to make a funny poem or song.
11.At bed time, ask your child to sequence the events of their day.
12.Create a new dance move or hand shake with your child.
13.Play a board game like Candy Land with your child.
14.Ask your child to show you a Jumping Jack, Push Up or Skipping.
*** You would be surprised how many kids can’t do these tasks.
- Use chalk outside to make Hopscotch. Teach them how to play.
You can also find some Summer Packets to have children sit down for 20 minutes a day and focus on skills to prepare them for the next grade.
