Did you know that when our kiddos head home for the summer if they are not actively engaging in learning activities, especially in reading, they could forget concepts they have already learned? Wait, there is good news! This doesn't have to happen and the Fun, Fun, Fun Summertime Blog Hop is designed to help. During your time with us, you are going to have the opportunity to visit some great teacher blogs that will give you strategies and activities to assist you with your children's summer learning.
So, Let's Begin ~
Take a trip to the local library and encourage your children to read about topics they enjoy. You could even visit some museums to learn more about the topic. Encourage your children to write about the experiences in a summer journal.
Set aside a time and place when the whole family enjoys reading a book. This could be as simple as reading after dinner on the front porch. Then take turns discussing what happened in the story, your favorite parts, and what you would do if you were the characters.
Encourage your children to learn one or two new words a week. Challenge them to use these words in their conversations. Keep a tally chart of who uses the new words correctly the most and at the end of each week they win a small prize or reward.
Who, What, When, Where, and Why
This game will be a sure winner with your kiddos. They will have so much fun they won't even realize they are learning.
(Be sure to click on the picture to download this freebie.)
How to play:
~ Review with your children the meaning of the "5 wh" question words: who, what, when, where, why. Place the "5 wh cards" on a flat surface. Have your children read each word aloud.
~ Help your children match the "answer card" to the correct "5 wh card." Be sure to discuss the meaning of each "5 wh" word and explain the answers.
~ It's time to play! Shuffle the cards and place all of them on a flat surface. Take turns choosing two cards. If the two cards are a match you get another turn.
If the cards don't match the other player takes a turn.
~ As you are playing record the answer choices on the response sheet. Talk about why the answers go in each section.
~ Finally, read your children's favorite story together. At the end of the story, discuss the "5 wh" events that happened in the story.
Cause and Effect Game
I love Laura Numeroff's If You Give a .... series of books and I have found that children love them too. These books are a fun read and a great way to practice cause and effect. Below is a game you can play to practice cause and effect skills too.
(Be sure to click on the picture to learn more about this game.)
Before playing this game, you will want to review the meaning of the words "cause and effect."
Then play the concentration game by matching the correct cause and effect events.
Have your children complete an interactive notebook template or graphic organizer to explain the cause and effect events from the story.
Doing these fun and easy activities throughout the summer will help your children enrich their summer learning.
Be sure to "hop" over to Elementary Antics to learn about more summer learning ideas.
