Summer vacation is nearing and for many kids that means days of fun and sun. However, as a parent you don’t want your child to forget everything they have learned during the year or for their mind to get lazy. There are ways to still let your children have fun and learn at the same time. Some of the games are so fun, they may not even realize that they are learning, but that’s okay, we won’t tell them!
Cooking Up Some Fun and Learning on a Rainy Day
If it’s raining outside then you and your kids can still have fun while learning. Find a good recipe for some cookies. Flavor won’t matter, what will matter is that you are about to review some math skills with your child. Choose to either double the recipe or half the recipe, maybe whichever one your child is struggling with. Then get a piece of paper and pencil and start multiplying or dividing those ingredients. This works great for whole numbers and for fractions. If your child is just learning fractions, use an apple or some other fruit to teach them halves, fourths, and so on.
A Night Outside
This is the perfect activity to do with your child if you have to work days and still want to do something educational and fun at night with them. Spread a blanket outside and get a flashlight. Shine the light at a white blanket or large piece of posterboard. Get a book that details bugs that are attracted to light and identify the types of bugs that come for a visit with your child. If the kids start to get bored, you can always use the flashlight to do shadow puppets and tell stories.
Encourage Writing
Encourage your child to start some form of a journal. There are many different types they can keep up with. Whether it is a regular composite book in which they write and detail all of the events of the day or a book you and your child make together with construction paper and string, it is always a good thing to get their creative juices flowing. If your child isn’t old enough to write or doesn’t like to write, let them draw pictures. They can also find items outside or from places they go to make a type of scrapbook detailing their summer vacation.
Plant a Garden
Have your children help you plant a garden and take care of it. The garden can have vegetables or flowers, but let them help pick out the seeds to help them get invested in the project. Then they can watch their plants grown each day. Help them learn the difference between the plants and the weeds and study the different phases that the plants are going through. After they are fully grown, you can teach your child about photosynthesis.
Do you have any fun and educational activity ideas for summer? Please share them with us!
