Keep Your Child's Brain Fresh Over the Summer!
Help prevent the "Summer Slide"! When children do not engage in educational activities during the summer, learning loss can occur. Below are some ways to prevent this loss and still be a fun and relaxing summer. Here are ideas, websites, and activities to keep their brains in " learning mode".
Here's what you can do:
For Elementary and Middle School Students:
Help prevent the "Summer Slide"! When children do not engage in educational activities during the summer, learning loss can occur. Below are some ways to prevent this loss and still be a fun and relaxing summer. Here are ideas, websites, and activities to keep their brains in " learning mode".
Here's what you can do:
For Elementary and Middle School Students:
- All students can benefit from a trip to the local library.
- Parents of younger students can create a summer reading list with their children, and then reward them when they finish each book. You can select books on or above their current level. Wonder how you can find out what level a book is? Go to http://www.scholastic.com/bookwizard/. Enter the book title and select Guided Reading Level. Most books should be there!
- Additionally, parents can encourage their kids to think outside of the box with arts and crafts. Sites such as kids.gov and NGA Kids have great ideas that will let any child’s imagination run wild and stimulate creativity.
- Summertime can be a great time to teach healthy eating habits. Parents can get ideas for tasty and nutritious meals at Let’s Move! and kidshealth.org. There is also information available about the USDA Summer Food Program, which was established to ensure that low-income children continue to receive nutritious meals when school is not in session.
- Read, read, and read some more! Your child probably made a LOT of progress with her reading during first grade, and you certainly don’t want those gains to be lost over the summer! When choosing books that are just right for your soon-to-be second grader, have your child read aloud the first 2 pages to you. On those first 2 pages, your child should be able to read all but about 3 of the words. If there are more than 3 tricky words on these two pages, this is a good indication that the book is too hard for your child and will frustrate him/her. You’ll want to choose a variety of books, of course – some that are too hard for your child but that you can read aloud to her, and some that are just right for your child to read independently.
- A lot of the education websites for interactive practice have free trials! These are excellent sites:
- http://www.mycapstonelibrary.com/login/ username: palisades password: read -You can have access to eBooks all summer. Follow the link below and start reading! This site is always available from any device!
- http://www.ixl.com/ Math and English practice that feels like play
- http://www.visnos.com/demos Interactive Math Activities
- http://interactivesites.weebly.com/math.html
- http://www.mathplayground.com/games.html
- www.Readworks.org
- http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/fact-fragment-frenzy-30013.html
- http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/word-wizard-30002.html
- www.readwritethink.org
- http://www.storylineonline.net
- http://readtomelv.com
- http://wegivebooks.org
- http://starfall.com
- http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/online-storytime-books-toys/379003588/
- http://tumblebooks.com (free on the Charlotte-Meck Library site under resources)
- http://en.childrenslibrary.org/
- http://abcya.com
- http://www.storynory.com/
- http://ngexplorer.cengage.com/ngyoungexplorer/index.html
- http://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/
- http://sheppardsoftware.com/ (all subjects)