Summer Fun and Games

As summer approaches, we begin to dream about the exciting months ahead—beach days, picnics, family reunions, holidays in the mountains, evening bike rides that take advantage of the longer days of sunshine, and fantastic weather.

But if you’re a parent, you may have something else on your mind: How to keep your kids learning over the summer while school is out. Are there ways to reinforce what they’ve learned during the year, perhaps help them push to improve their skills, or simply help them to understand that learning can happen at any time and can even be fun?

As a child, my mother held “quiet hour” each morning from Monday through Friday. It was a time to work on spelling, reading, and math skills. She was adamant that we continue to improve over the summer. Quiet hour was not terrible, but it wasn’t really fun either. It felt like going to school in our hot kitchen every day.

So how can parents help their kids keep learning, but add fun to it? I’ll throw out some ideas that you might want to try. Or perhaps these ideas will spur your creativity to consider how your child learns best, and ways to make learning activities into games during those precious weeks of summer.

Flash Card Teams – This activity can be used to review information the child has already learned. It works better if you have at least two children to play the game. Select ten to twelve flash cards for each “team.” This way, the questions can be tailored to that child’s knowledge, and there is less stress than if the children are competing directly and trying to “beat” each other to the answer. The team that answers the most flash cards in their set wins. If there are only two children, you can also team up one child with each parent (or another adult or older child). The adult should let the child answer the flash-card challenge, with the adult helping them to figure out the answer, if they are unsure. If there is only one child in the household, instead of competing to be the “winner,” perhaps the child can win points toward a special privilege (i.e., 10 points allows the child to choose a family movie to watch together, a special treat after dinner, or to choose between activities such as a trip to the park or a bicycle ride somewhere fun as their reward).

Math Tree – Make a poster-sized tree or make a tree on a bulletin board. Cut out leaves to hang on the tree and write a skill-level appropriate equation on each leaf. Have the child(ren) attempt one equation per day. Write in the correct answer and put the child’s name on that leaf. At the end of the week, the child with the most correct solutions wins a special privilege.

Family Reading Time – In addition to keeping up their reading via the summer reading program at the library, a fun way to share reading is to have family reading time. In my family, we would all gather round after dinner and chores were completed. My mother would lie down on the floor with us sitting around her (or on top of her if we were small enough). Each night she read one chapter of a wonderful book to us, such as The Hobbit, The Wind in the Willows, Little House in the Big Woods, Island of the Blue Dolphins, The Call of the Wild, etc. The stories were very engaging, and also exposed us to higher-level vocabulary than we’d find in our own readers. She also let us take turns trying to read a sentence or two to the others. The long-format books were exciting and filled with adventure, keeping us tuned in night after night.

STEM Activities – STEM is not just for school. There are fun and creative ways for kids to learn about scientific or math concepts by doing experiments or activities at home. Doing these activities at home will turn them into a fun family activity. It won’t feel like school—it will just be something fun to do, and they’ll learn concepts at the same time.

Arts and Crafts – Many children enjoy doing a wide variety of arts and crafts, whether they are “crafty” by nature or not. Children get to exercise creativity, spend time in the zone of concentration, and learn new skills. For younger children, these handwork skills assist them with basics like cutting, holding a pencil or crayon, mixing, etc. And they also get the reward of showing off what they made to other family members.

Family Cooking – While children can enjoy the process of making something, and eat up their creations, they will also learn valuable life skills, do some counting, and maybe learn a bit about fractions if they are doing any baking.

The Mercer County Library has lots of books with different ideas and activities that can help your children continue learning and skill-building over the summer. 

Pairing Steam with Stories: 46 Hands-On Activities for Children by Elizabeth M. McChesney

“This book provides 46 hands-on STEAM activities that librarians and museum educators can implement.”

Hands-on Science and Math: Fun, Fascinating Activities for Young Children by Beth Davis

Gives parents lots of ideas for early teaching of children when it comes to science and math principles.

Preparing Children for Reading Success: Hands-On Activities for Librarians, Educators, and Caregivers by Julia Irwin

Designed to familiarize anyone who reads to young children with the essentials of promoting early and emerging literacy. Irwin and Moore share activities that can be used to foster this critical skill development, and have linked these activities to popular children’s books.

A Little Bit of Dirt: 55+ Science and Art Activities to Reconnect Children with Nature by Asia Citro

Bursting with creative hands-on outdoor science and art activities, Little Bit of Dirt is full of motivation to get outside and explore.

Everyday Games for Sensory Processing Disorder: 100 Playful Activities to Empower Children with Sensory Differences by Barbara Sher

“100 sensory-rich games that make working with your child a joy. If you're looking for new strategies to manage your child's sensory processing disorder, this book is a perfect companion….”

Clothing: Eco Activities by Louise Nelson

"Simple activities show children how to make a difference to the environment by reusing clothing to make bags, pots for plants, and new shoes."

100 Fun & Easy Learning Games for Kids: Teach Reading, Writing, Math and More with Fun Activities by Amanda Boyarshinov

“Shares one hundred activities and games that will teach children about science, music, art, writing, math, reading, and global studies using household objects.”

- by Jeanne, Twin Rivers Branch