Yep, school's almost out! And, whether you're the teacher or the parent, it's time to think about ways to keep your little sweeties from forgetting everything they've learned all year.
Of course, kids need some downtime, just like we do. Hopefully they will have at least a week or two to simply enjoy summer....no obligations.....no educational expectations. Just summer bliss.
If you're a summer school teacher, you know as well as I do, you have to be prepared with as many fun and hands-on activities you can come up with, because IT'S SUMMER, and kids don't want to do regular school work in SUMMER! You really don't need to come up with elaborate activities. Keep it simple.
In my summer school classes, we've always spent a lot of time simply reading and enjoying literature....FOR THE FUN OF IT! I find this to be one of the best ways to keep their reading skills up to par. No pressure.
To keep math and science fresh and fun, there are numerous outside activities.
Here's a fun human sundial shadow experiment from Rhythms of Play, a hands-on way for kids to learn about how shadows are created and measure the earth's rotation.
And they'll love this Pop Rockets science experiment from
Then sometimes, we just need a quiet, laid-back indoor learning activity. I've found the kids always love color-by-number, so I created a complete set of summer color-by-number printables with a Fourth of July theme. These go perfectly with the Pop Rockets science activity.
Click on the image to view.
Prevent the summer slide and have a well-prepared and happy summer!