Back to School! Those words are like honey to parents lips… and it’s an exciting time for kids and teachers too! Before we know it, these long lazy days of summer will over and school will start back. How can you help get your child ready for the coming school year besides just buying all the necessary supplies?
You may have heard about "summer slide,” the loss of skills and learning over the summer. Kids work hard all school year learning new skills in Reading, Science, and Math. When summer comes, many lose the structure of being in school and stop practicing the skills they developed, resulting in a loss of 2-3 months of reading skills and even more math and science skills. However, you can help your kids retain their hard-earned skills and no, that doesn’t mean sitting down and doing “schoolwork” or reading all summer!
Reading: One of the best ways to prevent summer slide is to READ, READ, READ!
- Check out some new books at the library to take on vacation.
- Get fiction and some non-fiction books that interest your child.
- Sign up for a summer reading program.
- Attend the free events offered at our local libraries.
Little E and I go to Preschool Story Time at our library each week and we love it! They sing songs, do finger plays, read books and even do a craft. I love it when they introduce a book that we haven’t read and we get to check it out. It gives our bedtime story new life! Our library also has events for school age kids that revolve around science and engineering and numerous programs for all age groups. You'll find library events listed on the Macaroni Kid event calendar.
Science: Go outside. Look around. You are in the middle of science! Use your outdoor playtimes to practice science.
- Help your kids identify animals and insects they see in your own backyard. Give them a magnifying glass for up-close exploration.
- Match plants with their seeds (ex. pine tree with a pine cone).
- Check out an animal or plant identification book from the library if you need to.
- Plant a garden or just some flower seeds or vegetable seeds. Easy to grow plants are marigolds, pansies, aloe (you can talk about its healing properties, too), green beans, carrots, and cucumbers.
- Take a hiking or camping trip to a local state park or along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
- Talk about the weather and keep a record of it. Watch weather reports on the news or check them online and let your kids figure out if the meteorologists got it right!
Math: Practicing math skills is a little harder, but totally doable! One of the best ways is to talk about math skills in your regular day. Look for numbers wherever you go and ask questions about them.
- Going to get ice cream? Let your child count the number of toppings they get or estimate how much their cup will cost.
- Heading to a baseball game? Let your preschooler identify the players’ numbers or let older kids calculate the players’ stats like a coach.
- Making a new recipe? Preschoolers and school age kids can help you measure (it’s great fractions practice!). My mom gave my brother and I each a day of the week to cook supper. We had to find the recipes, plan the shopping list, and then cook the meal (with her help of course). It’s a great way to practice planning and math skills.
- Going on vacation? Play educational games during the car ride. You can count cars the same color, play car bingo, and practice rounding up gas prices.
- Give kids a set amount of money for their souvenirs and help them calculate the prices. This is great on your budget too!
- Practice math with flash cards or make your own math monsters.
- Another way is to play classic games like Hungry Hungry Hippos, Monopoly (let your child be the banker), Uno and Connect Four all help with math skills.
- You can also do crafts to practice skills like symmetry, measuring and geometry.
Art: Another way to practice all these skills is with art. Art doesn’t have to be expensive.
- Use recyclables to make art projects. Egg cartons, empty toilet paper and paper towel rolls, bottles, cans, and cereal boxes all make great art project supplies. Find a plastic tote and start a collection your kids can pull out as they create. Add crayons or markers, tape or glue and you’re ready to go. For example, Little E made binoculars out of two toilet paper rolls taped together. She decorated them with stickers and I added a piece of yarn for a neck strap.
- Use boxes and tubes to make a castle (art and engineering... YES!).
- Ask your child to draw their favorite book character or a picture of a story to easily combine reading and art.
- Kids and teens can enjoy chalking the sidewalks with their own art. Encourage older kids to create a maze on the driveway. Then they can run, ride bikes, or jump through it.
- You can combine science and art, too. Little E loves to gather leaves and practice her scissor skills by snipping them apart. Older kids can use different leaves to make rubbings with a crayon and white paper. Talk about the kinds of plants, parts of plants and even photosynthesis as they work.
Getting kids ready for school doesn’t have to be a bunch of “extra” activities they do. Look for things in your every day life to talk about different topics in science, practice skills in math, and work on reading. Knowing kids have been working on their skills this summer will make “Back to School” like honey on teachers’ lips too!
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