Keeping kids engaged over the summer.....

[lillygator]

our school year is just about over. DD is in first grade and while I don't want to give her nightly homework by any means, I want to continue keeping her working on her handwriting and maybe some other workbooks or something.....

any suggestions?

 

[TinklednPants]

My suggestion is you're only a kid once and she is a very young one at that.
Let her play and take a break from the school work.

 

[JohnsPrincess]

What about a summer journal? You can have her write in it every day for 5 min, or every other, etc. That way she's practicing her writing but also will have a little diary of her summer.

Bring her to the library and have her pick some books out. Let her (within reason, obviously) pick whatever she wants to read. It's summer so she should be allowed some "fun" reads. As she's reading, you can have some conversations with her about what's going on in the story (comprehension). Don't make it like a chore, though. Just "So, how's the book you're reading? What's your favorite character so far?...oh really? She sounds really interesting, what sort of things does she do in the story?" Etc.

If you take her shopping, you can have her "pay" and just explain to her about how much money, etc. If you're using cash you can tell her that, for example, it costs 15$ and you're giving them a 20$ bill and then ask if she knows how much change you'll get back, ie: what is 20-15. I can't remember what level 1st graders are at in that area, lol, but just telling it to her can help!

 

[lillygator]

My suggestion is you're only a kid once and she is a very young one at that.
Let her play and take a break from the school work.

oh I agree to an extent, I was just looking at her homework journal and the difference in her handwriting from the beginning of the year until now is tremendous. I would hate for her to relapse so to speak - not that she would, I simply don't know. She'll be at summer camp all day M-F and they are doing fun things the entire day - swimming, crafts, sports, so it definitely won't be as though she is missing out on any kid activity.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I plan on whole-heartedly agreeing with DS the next time he mentions how short recess is (they get 15 minutes) and then bringing that conversion up later when I ask him to do only 15 minutes of school-type stuff a day in the summer.

Our area also has a lot of reading programs you can join. Last year he did one at the bank and another at the library, and he actually won baseball tickets!

 

[ckay87]

How about a good old-fashioned pen pal? My neice in Florida and I exchange postcards. It's been fun to seek out goofy postcards wherever I go. She got to practice her reading and has enjoyed collecting them. Does she have anyone who would do that with her?

 

[kinntj]

My DD's (6 & 8 in summer) will be doing the reading program though their library and they'll also get prizes at home. Still trying to figure out how many books per prize. We're making a poster for each child and they keep track of the books they read and they do a little review of each.

They will do a journal, but only write about special outings we do...like the zoo, museum, water park, camping, etc. They'll get to take pictures and print the ones they want. It also gives them some ideas to write about when they get back to school next year.

We also ordered her math workbook they use in school for review.

That's it.

 

[mrsv98]

As a former teacher, I highly recommend this series of books:

http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Bridge...=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273511773&sr=8-2

It is broken down into days, with 2-3 pages per day. It also includes larger projects and suggestions for family outings. It only takes 10-15 mins a day and it really helps them not lose ground over the summer.

I would also take time to read everyday. DD's school has a summer reading program that is themed. The students set their own goals and as long as they read some they can participate in the themed celebration in Sept. DD is fairly competitive with a few of her friends (especially the boys ) so she generally sets a pretty high goal...now, making sure she doesn't leave it all until the beginning of Aug to complete is another story entirely!

 

[golfgal]

When our kids were that age we did the library reading programs and I picked up a couple workbooks from Walmart for them to do over the summers. They would read before bed, as usual, and at lunch would do a worksheet so they were not missing any "play" time. They would keep up on their math by adding up our golf score cards .

 

[lillygator]

Reading is one thing I don't have to worry about, she loves it! Especially now that she is into the chapter books. It's amazing once they get the hang of it!

 

[Tinkermommy]

My DD does seem to backslide if we don't keep her a bit involved over the summer. So she typically 15 minutes of worksheets, then her piano practice (which we continue throughout the summer). She also reads everyday but she loves that so it's not a chore to her. She does the reading program through our library as well.

Then she is off to the pool and play with her friends the rest of the day!

I am going to check out the books series the pp listed. I also like the idea of a pen pal so she does more writing, which she does not like to do!

 

[princessmom29]

I bought the Summer Bridge book recommended by a PP for my DD leaving K going into 1st. I also plan to continue reading with her every night on something SHE is interested in reading.

 

[kinntj]

You have to watch with those summer bridge books that they are the right level. When I went to the store to look at them, they were too easy for her and had to go to the next grade level.

I think kids get tons of time to be kids in the summer. It's only smart to give them a little bit of review so they don't lose the information. Then it's just that much more work once school starts up.

In the 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade here they give the kids timed tests (1 or 5 minutes) on adding and subtraction, so it's a good idea to continue to give them these during the summer.

 

[lillygator]

I think kids get tons of time to be kids in the summer. It's only smart to give them a little bit of review so they don't lose the information. Then it's just that much more work once school starts up.

I figure she'll be getting to do fun kid things from 8-5 so a few worksheets in the evening won't kill her.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I have my kids do a little each day. My oldest son has Asperger's and will be going to summer school at his specialized school to avoid backsliding so he'll be exempt from doing work at home. My younger son is attending a 2 1/2 week theater camp and I won't have him do homework during that time. However, on days that he's home, he'll be doing a little handwriting since his need improvement. He'll also be keeping up with his multiplication facts since he's right on the edge of having them all memorized. We'll only do about 15-20 minutes a day. I don't have them do work when we're out of town on vacation. Who wants to do that?

 

[hereyago]

DD11 does the library reading summer programs each year. I also get the Summer Bridge books as well. Or even just the individual books if DD had a hard time with a certain subject. I love the Parent/Teacher store.

Kids really don't need 3 months off from school and not learn anything. then when they do get back to school, the first month or so is reviewing what they learned last year, because they have to get back into that "learning" mentality.

 

[Rora]

There are some great ideas on here!!

How about some of the themed workbooks? As a 3rd grade teacher I've seen plenty of math, handwriting, reading comprehension, etc workbooks that are fun themed-- Disney Princess, Cars, other popular characters from non-Disney shows/movies.

Best of luck!

 

[quasar4legs]

While I wouldn't go the 'workbook route' there are lots of fun things that you could do over the summer that incorporate reading, cutting, maths skills, language etc.
Here is a list of some things we did when my son was a similar age. Don't forget that one of the best things you can do for fine motor skills is to develop good gross motor skills.

Make your own story books
Take photos and turned it into a story board or book
Visit museums, art galleries, zoo, etc.
Do some cooking and get your daughter to read the recipe and do the measuring
Make slime
One time we bought cheap pots and broke them into pieces and then tried to be archeologists and put them back together again
Write a play together
Make up a book of funny jokes
Take a sketch book somewhere and spend some time drawing together
Plant a vegetable garden and keep a growth chart
Buy a cheap weather station and record daily details for the summer
Draw a map of your local area
Design a new park or building
Learn some words in a foreign language
Buy some clay and make your own pots or sculptures.
Sculpt a bust out of styrofoam
Make sock puppets
Make shadow puppets
Visit an observatory
Spend time looking at the night sky
Borrow a bird watching book from the library and do some bird peeping.
Do a big family jigsaw puzzle
Sew some dress up clothes together
Build a cubby house using the furniture and sheets etc.
Read by torch light in the cubby.
Learn to read a street directory and walk around the local area
Build a pin hole camera
Learn to use a microscope
Make an obstacle course in your back yard
Learn the names of dinosaurs
Make a big family tree of your families
Have a tea party and make your own decorations and invitations
Read some poetry on a picnic

And so on.


There are lots of ways to encourage active learning rather than just completing work sheets. In fact there is a lot of research that suggests children learn best when they are on the move and engaged as opposed to sitting still.

Have a fun summer

 

[golfgal]

While I wouldn't go the 'workbook route' there are lots of fun things that you could do over the summer that incorporate reading, cutting, maths skills, language etc.
Here is a list of some things we did when my son was a similar age. Don't forget that one of the best things you can do for fine motor skills is to develop good gross motor skills.

Make your own story books
Take photos and turned it into a story board or book
Visit museums, art galleries, zoo, etc.
Do some cooking and get your daughter to read the recipe and do the measuring
Make slime
One time we bought cheap pots and broke them into pieces and then tried to be archeologists and put them back together again
Write a play together
Make up a book of funny jokes
Take a sketch book somewhere and spend some time drawing together
Plant a vegetable garden and keep a growth chart
Buy a cheap weather station and record daily details for the summer
Draw a map of your local area
Design a new park or building
Learn some words in a foreign language
Buy some clay and make your own pots or sculptures.
Sculpt a bust out of styrofoam
Make sock puppets
Make shadow puppets
Visit an observatory
Spend time looking at the night sky
Borrow a bird watching book from the library and do some bird peeping.
Do a big family jigsaw puzzle
Sew some dress up clothes together
Build a cubby house using the furniture and sheets etc.
Read by torch light in the cubby.
Learn to read a street directory and walk around the local area
Build a pin hole camera
Learn to use a microscope
Make an obstacle course in your back yard
Learn the names of dinosaurs
Make a big family tree of your families
Have a tea party and make your own decorations and invitations
Read some poetry on a picnic

And so on.


There are lots of ways to encourage active learning rather than just completing work sheets. In fact there is a lot of research that suggests children learn best when they are on the move and engaged as opposed to sitting still.

Have a fun summer

Well, those are all things they do for "fun", the workbooks are a more concentrated learning I guess. You can do both you know.

 

[JVL1018]

our school year is just about over. DD is in first grade and while I don't want to give her nightly homework by any means, I want to continue keeping her working on her handwriting and maybe some other workbooks or something.....

any suggestions?

My kids school gives a math packet every summer and book "reports" they should do 2, but can do more. If you do 5 or more you get a superior reader award come September.
Maybe your school does something like that? I had no idea about it until they sent it home after 1st grade.
If not, I also liked the Summer Bridge, I got them after PreK and K for my kids-they loved doing them.

I like the idea of a journal a PP mentioned. Works on handwriting, writing and art if she adds drawings.

ETA: My kids also do the summer reading program at the library, but we often forget to track every book-which is fine they both read every single day so I don't mind if we get lazy with the tracking.