Summer Suggestions!!!

During the summer there are some simple activities you can do with your child to help them stay on top of their learning. Many times after 8 weeks of fun in the sun, children can come back to school with less skills then they had when they took off for Memorial Day Weekend! Just like an athlete, "If you don't use it, you lose it!" our ability to reason, express ourselves, read and recall facts can be weakened. Here are just three activities your child can do daily. It will take less than an hour and can be done in bits and pieces... 1) Read 30 minutes a day...read the funny pages, Sports Illustrated for Kids, Magic School Bus, whatever your child enjoys. Try to keep it at their current reading level or maybe even a tad bit higher. Any new words they come across, write them down in a notebook and see how many new words your child can learn over the summer. Remember reading to your child counts as well in the thirty minutes. Take turns! They will love the attention and will learn by example how to improve their oral reading skills through you! 2) Writing. Keep a journal of each day...But make it fun...Give it a title...for example: The best three things about Monday! What I hated about Tuesday. The funniest thing that happened today. (Don't worry about spelling, just getting the thoughts to flow! Another writing activity is a letter a week. Write to Grandma or Aunt Sue or Cousin Steve. 2 to 3 paragraphs tops, but on this take the time to DOL it and check for punctuation, caps and spelling! E-Mail can work on this as well, especially if Dad (or Mom) travels with work. 3) Math facts. Bottom line... Your child needs to know their addition, subtraction and multiplication facts inside out! No pause, no hesitation. The only way that will happen is by practicing. 10 minutes tops daily! Try flash cards or go to the math websites I have listed on my webpage to practice. Make it fun, but identify which ones your child is unsure of, then practice, practice, practice...set small goals and celebrate each success. I hope this helps. Please check out the Allen Public Library for their summer reading program. A great place to hang out on those hot summer afternoons! Tricia

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