Fun Summer Learning!

By: Toronto4Kids

Homework during the Summer? The thought doesn't sound appealing to most kids however did you know that many children experience a loss of their learning skills over the summer vacation? Don't let your kids forget all they've learned this past school year! Here are a few simple tips to make learning a fun part of your everyday routine so they don't fall behind.

1. Go to your local bookstore and pick up some simple and fun summer exercise books for your kids to work through during the summer months. You can usually review the year that they just completed at school. Set aside a short time each day for these activities. Take can also take supplemental learning materials with you in your travels so that children can practice skills on a daily basis, whether on the road, at the cottage or on the beach.

2. Encourage reading every day. Keep lots of books around and make regular trips to the library. Let them read books they want to read! Most libraries schedule special summer events or summer reading clubs for kids. Sign up your family. Consider subscribing your kids to popular children's magazines.

3. Have your child keep a Summer Journal to practice writing skills while creating a special keepsake of how they spent their summer. Ask your child to write a weekly letter to his or her grandparents, relatives, or friends.

4. Use Math every day as these are the skills children tend to lose the most. Have kids practice additions, subtractions, multiplications and divisions through fun games, while on outings, in the car or at the grocery store. Use measuring or fractions in cooking. Or check out these fun websites where children can also practice their math skills: www.coolmath.com or www.mathforum.org (ask Dr. Math).

5. Take educational trips. You can visit local museums, art galleries, zoos, nature centres, historical sites, cultural centres, festivals, or take in special exhibits at major attractions such as the Royal Ontario Museum or the Ontario Science Centre.

6. Limit your child's intake of TV and video games as you would during the school year. If kids are going to play on the computer, encourage use of fun learning website such as www.funbrain.com or www.homeworkspot.com.

Just remember… Spending time with your kids going over some basic math, spelling and grammar concepts will help them keep up those skills and make going back to school in the fall less difficult! Keep it fun! You don't want your kids to resent learning during the summer break!