|
Summer vacation from school is here, but children’s learning should continue. Summer, for some children, is their BEST time for learning. As parents and adults we can encourage children to become life-long learners with these ideas.
What I Learned This Summer
One way to reinforce continual education is to keep a record of items learned during the summer.
- Use a notebook and have your youngster label it “WHAT I LEARNED SUMMER 2006”
- Each day encourage writing in the book something they learned during the day. It could be something they learned while reading a book, watching TV, talking with a parent, or any other source.
- For example, in listening to news they learned
Warm ocean water is fuel for hurricanes.
A major hurricane has winds over 111 miles per hour.
From reading a book they learned
A cacao tree grows in the rainforest.
From their mom they learned
My mom doesn’t like coconut.
From writing in a journal they learned
I can spell the word “ imagination”.
- Before bedtime, read the notebook together to see what was written as new knowledge for him.
By the end of summer, with only one entry made each day, 85 bits of new information will have been learned. |
 |
Choose a Summer Research Topic
Summer is a great time to choose a child’s topic of interest and research it together.
- Choose a favorite food, sport, country, animal, person, occupation, or something that has sparked a child's interest.
- After the topic is chosen designate this month or all summer to learning as much as possible about this topic.
- Begin by finding a book that focuses on the chosen topic. Here are two examples – chocolate and the book Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith or penguins and the book March of the Penguins based on the movie and written by Jordan Roberts for National Geographic.
- Let's choose CHOCOLATE as the summer topic using the following outline which can be adapted to any topic.
- History of Chocolate – Go to the library, check the Internet, or visit a candy making store to find information. Look into countries that produce chocolate, when and who discovered chocolate, how chocolate is processed, etc.
- Read stories about chocolate.
- Tasting of different chocolates - bitter, semisweet, milk chocolate.
- Make foods with chocolate - chocolate fondue, fudge, chocolate cookies, chocolate ice cream, chocolate milk.
- Art Project - Paint with chocolate pudding.
- Watch video Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
- Check museums and stores for chocolate exhibits.
This can be a creative way to take advantage of summer and let a child enjoy learning in environments different than school. |
 |
ABC Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts are popular with children and can be played with one child or a team of players. This idea shares a way to practice our ABC’s while looking for objects.
- Let your child or the weather determine if the ABC hunt will be held outside or inside.
- Label a bag appropriately – OUTSIDE or INSIDE or ANYWHERE.
- Together make a sheet of paper listing all of the alphabet. Q – X – Z are difficult to find and can be excluded.
- Give plastic bags, tape, index cards and a marker to include in the bag.
- Draw on the index cards items too large to put in the bag.
- Set a time limit, depending on the age of the child, and have the child write on the prepared sheet of paper, items found and place item in the bag.
- Below are some examples.
| |
Outside |
Inside |
| A |
ant |
apple |
| B |
tree bark |
book |
| C |
car |
coin |
| D |
dirt |
dice |
| E |
electrical box |
envelope |
| F |
flower |
fork |
| G |
grass |
gum |
| H |
hose |
hat | |
 |
Name Scavenger Hunt
If finding all the letters of the alphabet for the scavenger hunt is too hard, try this idea.
- Select objects that match the letters in your name.
- For example, the name Kristin would need to find these or other similar objects –
K = key
R = rubber band
I = ice
S = sandal
T = teapot
I = ink pen
N = napkin
- Another way is to let a child select from a deck of alphabet cards four or five letters to find each day of the week.
This can be a team event or a contest between all the players. |
 | |
