School may be winding down for the summer, but your child’s learning shouldn’t be. With only a couple more days of school left for our child development centers, let’s not forget that our learning shouldn’t go on summer vacation!
According to a 2011 RAND Corporation report, the average summer learning loss in math and reading for American students amounts to one month per year. More troubling is that it disproportionately affects low-income students: they lose two months of reading skills. Children entering Pre-K and Kindergarten should be encouraged to practice all their new skills they learned during the school year.
There are many ways to incorporate learning during the summer months. Below are some tips followed by a list of online resources.
Ideas and tips:
- Kids have been learning while they play, so do the same at home.
- Go outside and explore your environment. Identify trees, plants and animals and have your child draw a picture.
- If you go to the beach for vacation, talk about marine life, environment and ecosystem.
- If you stay home, take your child to the library, museum, fire station and parks.
- If you are a busy working parent, talk about what you and your coworkers do.
- Have your child interview his relatives and then draw what he learned.
- Have your child count and sort (by size, color, shape) items in your house.
- Read with your child 20 minutes a day, every day.
- Sprinkle non-fiction, fiction and comic books in your reading routine.
- Engage your child in the book by asking her to draw what she learned.
- Have your child practice writing his name using sidewalk chalk.
Bonus Material!
Resources:
- Follow us on Pinterest to find more great ideas for educational activities to do this summer.
- Education World’s website
- PBS Kids & Sesame Street – online educational games*
- The Imagination Tree blog – counting activities
- No Time for Flash Cards blog – playing in nature
- Your Local Library has reading time, lists or contests – Fulton County – check your county’s site or visit them for information
*Limit screen time to 1-2 hours a day
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Reblogged this on Easter Seals North Georgia and commented:
The countdown to summer break is now in single digits. Don’t forget that it’s very important to make sure your kids continue to learn even though they are not going to school in the next couple of months. Here’s a look back at our tips to help you and your kids prevent summer brain drain.
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