UPDATED. 3.21.2020. In light of “shelter in place”, “socially distancing”, and “self quarantine”, I am updating this 7 year old blog post. My kids were young in 2013 and I needed to keep them busy. I’ve deleted broken links and added fun stuff that wasn’t available to us years ago. Books on CD have become books on Audible…you get the idea.
Let them run, get dirty, stay up late, sleep in, eat s’mores, and just be kids! Summer is pretty fantastic in so many ways! However, doing work that looks like school can be a total drag. I am taking a new approach this summer. I am throwing out the workbooks [actually I just didn’t buy them] and being more creative. I thought I would share my new approach with you.
Here are few [fun] summer learning ideas to keep their minds active:
//Board Games//
Scrabble- Builds spelling, creativity & strategy, math skills.
Rummikube- Builds problem solving and math skills
Apples to Apples – Excellent game to build vocabulary and practice reading.
Balderdash – Players must use language creatively to create a definition of an unknown word.
//Reading//
Books on Audible– My oldest loved to listening to audio novels. He enjoyed the narrators. Audible just announced that they are making their vast selection of audio books free until school resumes. It is a great way to spend a lazy afternoon.
TumbleBooks – eBooks online. We have access to TumbleBooks through our county library system. Check your library website to see if your library has TumbleBooks or something similar.
Read a book/Watch the movie – Don’t you love to read a book and then see the movie? So do kids! The possibilities are endless.
Storyline – Storyline Online, streams videos featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations. Readers include Viola Davis, Chris Pine, Lily Tomlin, Kevin Costner, Annette Bening, James Earl Jones, Betty White and dozens more.
//Math//
Roll coins old school style. Grab some paper wrappers from the bank, give your kids your spare change jar, and get counting. Perfect for skip counting practice and coin recognition. Who needs Coinstar? We’ve got kids!
Cool Math games An amazing assortment of math games. Little Man would play for hours if I let him!
Bake from scratch. On a cool day [or any day of you have A/C], bake something from scratch. Recipes reinforce following directions and the understanding of fractions.
//Writing//
All about Me– A wonderful keepsake! Kids fill in the pages all about themselves!
Send postcards. – Sadly, many kids don’t have many opportunities to send mail. Great practice for writing addresses in the correct form. During this time at home, you will probably have to create your own postcards, which is another great activity.
Start a Blogger blog. – Yes! Kids can have blogs too. They are easy to set up and free. Any topic can work for a blog as long is the writer is passionate about the subject. My kids used to write about their summer adventures. I would suggest wordpress.com to start a free blog. There are many tutorials you can find or just let your older kids play around with the formatting. They will figure it out!
Story Stones – Stones with images help kids tell or write a story. You could make your own or purchase incredibly cute pre painted stones. Etsy has MANY to choose from.
//Creativity//
Ed Emberly – These learn to draw books are perfect for kids [and grown ups]. They are so easy to follow and kids feel successful right away.
Creative Haven Coloring Book– These graphically beautiful coloring books are amazing for older kids. Believe me, they still love to color.
Doodle Books – Ever heard, “I don’t know what to draw?” The doodle books help kids get their pictures started with a few lines already on the page and a prompt on how to finish the drawing. Hours of fun!
Create a photo book – Let your kids take pictures throughout this time inside and help them make a keepsake photo book. They are recording history!
LEGOS– This link is to a blog that presents 52 LEGO challenges. It includes challenges to build a bridge, a playground, and a flag.
//Apps//
I will list a few apps that your kids will love. Find them wherever you find apps!
Dulingo, learn a language
SwiftPlaygrounds, learn to code
Stack the States 2, learn the US states
Dragonbox, math practice
Lightbot, learn to code
Epic!- ebook library
Starfall ABCs- learn the letters
BrainPop and BrainPop Jr- short movies on 100’s of topics
GoNoodle Kids- get up and move!
{image via }
