What can I do with my child in the summer?
What a great question!
The following is a list of ideas for you and your family to do together.
Some suggestions have links going directly to a site to learn more about it!
Most importantly ... HAVE FUN!!!
~ Write on the fridge using a write/erase marker (practice writing letters, numbers, phone number, name,
address, words)
~ Foam letters / soap writing / crayons in the bathtub (practice writing letters, numbers, phone number,
name, address, words)
~ Practice writing using finger paint / watercolors / brushes / sticks in the sand at the beach / rice /
pudding / shaving cream / sidewalk chalk
~ Take you child grocery shopping with you. Let him or her find the items you need. Find where would
they be located to help with categorization (ie - celery / lettuce in the vegetable section; apples/oranges
with the fruit). How many items can your child find that starts with a given letter?
~ Memory / Concentration with upper/lowercase letters, numbers and number dot patterns, pictures to
Edmark words, digital/analog times...
~ Read books and have your child read to you. Discuss characters, setting, ask questions, make
predictions.
~ Have your child point out words on the pages that he or she knows.
~ Find sight words in the newspaper, magazines, on signs...
~ Find how many times a certain word is in a (shorter) book.
~ Attend story time at your local library.
~ Keep a calendar. Discuss yesterday, today, tomorrow. How many days until the weekend or a special
activity. Cross off days until school starts.
~ Ask what time it is when the clock is on the hour or half hour (or whatever time your child is learning).
~ Give a small allowance for doing chores (making bed, cleaning room, putting clothes/dishes away). Save
the coins and make trades (pennies/nickels, pennies/dimes, nickels/dimes, quarters). Add the coins and
buy something!
~ Plant seeds. Watch them grow and keep a journal about what is seen (parent can scribe if necessary).
~ Play outside and inside games: Hopscotch, Origami, Mancala, Bingo, Puzzles (the list is endless)
~ Invite your child to cook with you. Have him or her measure/mix... Discuss measuring cups/spoons and
fractions.
~ Measure your child each week and see how he or she grows. Graph it!
~ Go somewhere. Count how many cows (or different objects) seen on the way.
~ Play Road Trip Bingo (make a board or use a free printable) using only: street signs; car colors; car types
~ Play Dice and Card Games. There a ton of sites out there if you Google them!
~ Collect and learn about bugs. Be sure to release them!
~ Look at the sky at night and talk about the stars / moon / space. Draw the phases of the moon.
~ Do arts and crafts / blow bubbles / make slime or paper mache.
~ Graph the temperature daily
~ Play outside; Take 'field trips'; Go fishing; Get a bird book and go on a nature hike to identify birds
~ Build with blocks or Legos. CREATE SOMETHING!!!
~ Draw pictures or create a journal of an activity you did as a family.
~ Make jewelry out of beads or shells and create patterns.
~ Make popsicles or homemade ice cream (in a bag)!
address, words)
~ Foam letters / soap writing / crayons in the bathtub (practice writing letters, numbers, phone number,
name, address, words)
~ Practice writing using finger paint / watercolors / brushes / sticks in the sand at the beach / rice /
pudding / shaving cream / sidewalk chalk
~ Take you child grocery shopping with you. Let him or her find the items you need. Find where would
they be located to help with categorization (ie - celery / lettuce in the vegetable section; apples/oranges
with the fruit). How many items can your child find that starts with a given letter?
~ Memory / Concentration with upper/lowercase letters, numbers and number dot patterns, pictures to
Edmark words, digital/analog times...
~ Read books and have your child read to you. Discuss characters, setting, ask questions, make
predictions.
~ Have your child point out words on the pages that he or she knows.
~ Find sight words in the newspaper, magazines, on signs...
~ Find how many times a certain word is in a (shorter) book.
~ Attend story time at your local library.
~ Keep a calendar. Discuss yesterday, today, tomorrow. How many days until the weekend or a special
activity. Cross off days until school starts.
~ Ask what time it is when the clock is on the hour or half hour (or whatever time your child is learning).
~ Give a small allowance for doing chores (making bed, cleaning room, putting clothes/dishes away). Save
the coins and make trades (pennies/nickels, pennies/dimes, nickels/dimes, quarters). Add the coins and
buy something!
~ Plant seeds. Watch them grow and keep a journal about what is seen (parent can scribe if necessary).
~ Play outside and inside games: Hopscotch, Origami, Mancala, Bingo, Puzzles (the list is endless)
~ Invite your child to cook with you. Have him or her measure/mix... Discuss measuring cups/spoons and
fractions.
~ Measure your child each week and see how he or she grows. Graph it!
~ Go somewhere. Count how many cows (or different objects) seen on the way.
~ Play Road Trip Bingo (make a board or use a free printable) using only: street signs; car colors; car types
~ Play Dice and Card Games. There a ton of sites out there if you Google them!
~ Collect and learn about bugs. Be sure to release them!
~ Look at the sky at night and talk about the stars / moon / space. Draw the phases of the moon.
~ Do arts and crafts / blow bubbles / make slime or paper mache.
~ Graph the temperature daily
~ Play outside; Take 'field trips'; Go fishing; Get a bird book and go on a nature hike to identify birds
~ Build with blocks or Legos. CREATE SOMETHING!!!
~ Draw pictures or create a journal of an activity you did as a family.
~ Make jewelry out of beads or shells and create patterns.
~ Make popsicles or homemade ice cream (in a bag)!
Make fossils
Make rain sticks Have a treasure hunt Go to an outdoor play Go strawberry picking Run through a sprinkler Set up a lemonade stand Go to Oxford Plains Speedway Go camping (in the back yard!) Try Geocaching Fun activities at home! |
Go swimming
Go to a local baseball game Wash the car Go fishing Play mini-golf Go to the park Have a garage sale Grow a garden Build sandcastles Try Letterboxing Write a message in a bottle |
Go on a picnic
Go to a FREE outdoor concert Ride bikes Fly a kite Go roller skating Go to a festival or fair Paint T-shirts Make pet rocks Learn to play an instrument Build tents with sheets in the LR Go to a nearby lake/pond |