As we all look forward to relaxing and having fun, I have a few tips to encourage your child to continue learning throughout the summer. A packet will be going home with your child this week that has lots of learning activities that can be used to chase away any summer boredom. Below is a list taken from the Reading is Fundamental website with lots of fun activities that have learning embedded in them. Enjoy!
Week 1: Celebrate summer
- Write a list of things you want to do this summer. Don't forget to include reading!
- Make a chart to keep track of all the books you read this summer.
- Write down on your calendar the time the sun sets today.
- Start a summer scrapbook. Include souvenirs of any trips you take, photos, ticket stubs, and projects you work on during the summer.
- List all the books by your favorite author. See how many you can read this summer.
- Swap books with a friend. Keep sharing books throughout summer.
- Take a walk. Write about or draw the things you see that show summer is here.
- Make a personal phone book. List phone numbers and addresses of your friends and relatives.
- Design your own stationery and write a letter to a friend.
- Start a journal with a friend or relative. Take turns writing in it all summer long. You can even do this by mail or e-mail.
- Write a letter to your favorite author. A librarian can help you find a postal or e-mail address.
- Draw a picture postcard of an imaginary place. On the back, write a message. Mail it to a friend or relative or put it in your scrapbook.
- The first
U.S. - Word game! Invent a code (A=1, B=2, for example). Send a message in code to a friend.
- List all the ice cream flavors you can think of. Now put them in A-BC order.
- Invent a recipe for a cool summer drink. Write it on a recipe card. Serve the drink to your friends.
- Go to the library and find a cookbook. Make the most interesting dish in the book.
- Read the directions on a box of gelatin. Ask a parent if you can help make dessert tonight.
- Work up an appetite by reading a story about food. Make and eat the food you read about.
- Word game! How many smaller words can you find in the word watermelon?
- If you are going on a family vacation this summer, read about your trip. Mark your travel route on a map.
- Pretend you are going to visit another city, state, or country with a friend or relative. Write to the tourist bureau for more information. If you plan to visit a foreign country, write to the embassy. Visit the library and find books about the place you want to visit. Or search online for information. Plan your itinerary – and don't forget to check the weather!
- Pick an important news event from another city, state, or country. Find as much information on the topic as possible – read newspapers, listen to the radio, and watch TV news. Talk about what you learned.
- Word game! Look for out-of-state license plates. Make a list of all the state names and slogans. Decide which ones you like the best. Ask friends and relatives which are their favorites.
- Pick wildflowers and press them between the pages of a heavy book until the end of summer.
- Plan a backyard camping trip with a friend. List all the things you will need to survive.
- Plan a family 'booknic' at your favorite outdoor spot, such as the beach, a park, or the woods. Pack lunch and plenty to read.
- Collect shells at the beach or rocks along a trail. Use a nature guide to identify them.
- Find something small enough to put in your pocket. Write or tell a story about it.
- Look for shapes and designs in the clouds. Draw them.
- Word game! Make a list of words to describe fireworks.
Week 6: Visit fun places
- An animal has escaped from the zoo! Make up a story about it. Tell it to a friend or family member – or write it down. Add pictures, if you'd like.
- What museums are close to your house? Are there any old, historic buildings in the area? Find these places on a map. Find out what is on exhibit at the museums and why the old buildings are important.
- Go back in time and pretend you lived in – or did business in – the oldest building in your area. Write a story about how you spent your time.
- Make a list of zoo animals. Sort them by different categories, such as type of animal (mammals, fish, etc.) or coloring (green, brown, striped, etc.).
- Visit the zoo with friends or relatives and find the animals on your list.
- Visit a museum or historical building with friends or relatives. Write a list of things you see that you didn't expect.
- Word game! Think of the softest animal or the oldest thing you've ever touched. Write a poem about it, but don't use the word soft or old.
- Make your own joke book. Collect jokes and riddles from your family and friends.
- Cut out pictures from an old magazine or catalog. Write a story about them.
- Create a rebus story (a story that uses pictures to represent words). Write a short story, and then substitute pictures (that you draw or cut out) for some of the words.
- Start a round-robin story. Write the beginning, then ask friends to add to it until it has an ending.
- Learn what birds live in your area. (Birds are described in books called Field Guides.) Wake up early to go bird watching and list the birds you see.
- Which constellations can you see on a clear summer night? Look at the sky using a star guide to help you find the constellations.
- People have been looking at the skies for generations. Ask a grandparent or a much older friend to tell you a story about his or her childhood.
- The first UFO was reported in 1947. Read a science fiction book in honor of it.
- Word game! Baseballs also fly through the sky in summer. Find a list of baseball teams in the sports section of the newspaper. Put them in A-B-C order.
- Invent a tool to help you do chores more easily. Draw a picture of it or make it from some old junk.
- Read aloud the names of some of the cars in the classified section of your newspaper. Design a new car and name it.
- Walk around your neighborhood and look at the houses. Design a house that would best suit your lifestyle.
- Design your own board game and write the rules.
- Everything we use was designed by someone. Start a collection of things you like, or add to a collection you already have. Use a guide to learn the value of your collection.
- Remember the wildflowers you pressed between the pages of a heavy book? Remove them, and put them in your summer scrapbook or paste them on heavy paper to make a bookmark.
- Review the chart you made to track the books you read this summer. Pick new books to read.
- Notice what time the sun sets today. Compare it to the time the sun set during week one.
- Make a list of the supplies you need for school. Start shopping.
- Plan an end-of-summer celebration. Write a list of the 10 best things you did this summer. Design a menu of your favorite summer treats.
- Word game! Summer days are the longest days of the year. List the longest words you know.
No comments:
Post a Comment