Educational Summer for Kids

As a parent of a 7 year old, I worry about keeping his mind "fresh and working" when school is out for the summer. In this article you will find some of my tips to keep their brain working even when they think they do not need it to be.

The first few days of summer break are fun and pure excitement for kids. They are excited about the warmer weather, and the endless possibilities their little minds come up with to occupy themselves during this time aren't always the best.

I try to think of things to help my oldest son to learn but not feel like he is learning and not having any fun. I usually start with things that interest him. In our case that is anything to do with animals, and outdoors. I try to ask him things like "what are your favorite animals", and then I do some research on that animal or animals. It is fun for him to sit and read websites with me about whatever animal he has mentioned, and I can throw some questions in the mix about what we just read, and ask his opinion on something's that were highlighted in articles about those animals. This is a real simple way to help perk their imagination and brain. Ask your child what animals they like the most, or what animals they think are interesting. Take them to the desk with you and show them how to do a search on that animal, and let them pick a couple of sites that come up with their search. Parental supervision is another topic but a must when young children are online, no matter what they are doing. Read through the sites with them, and throw in your own questions, or pose a question like you want to know the answer and let them help you find it. You could say something like "I wonder where penguins live?", and let them read through a page and see if they see the answer. Before you know it you and your child have learned something about penguins, and had fun at the same time!

Another favorite of my son was when he asked a question about the presidents from the past. I told him we could look that up online as well. I found tons of sites that list everything from just presidents and the years that they were in office, to sites that show all the presidents thus far along with all of the vice presidents, there was even one site that I showed him that had the first ladies listed. He had a lot of fun looking over the presidents, and he also started asking more questions which lead into researching more to answer those questions. We learned a lot those couple of days together. It all started with his questions about George Washington, but he learned a lot more about George Washington and many other presidents.

All kids like to draw and color. There are numerous sites where you can print out activities and coloring pages. But, do not just print out the same old coloring pages that are in their coloring books. Look for coloring pages with shapes. Teach them as they color what the shapes are and ask them at the end if they can tell you what each shape is. You can ask them what the difference is in each shape. Also you could print out coloring pages with different size objects. Try to find pages that classify by SMALL, and LARGE. What is small to us maybe medium to someone else and vice versa. Make it easier with just the 2 classifications, until they get a little older and can understand better how to tell the difference between SMALL, MEDIUM, and LARGE. Even when they are coloring in a coloring book you could point out an interesting shape, and ask them to show you a shape they like. Ask them what that shape is or what other shapes make the design they are working on.

This is another artistic task, but once again kids love doing them so why not give them the opportunity to show their artistic side. During summer holidays or any holiday for that matter, or any holiday your family recognizes, go to printable coloring sites again. This time print out things surrounding that holiday. Example would be, around the Fourth of July, print out festive Independence Day pages and let your child color and decorate those pages. If it is something that is easily cut out, let them use their safety scissors and cut the coloring out. Give them a little tape and let them decorate their bedroom doors for the holiday. As they are coloring you can tell them things about why Independence Day is celebrated or why you think it is important. Once again before you know it they are having fun and learning at the same time.

Old stand bys for fun and learning could be to get acrylic paints and let the kids choose different size rocks and interesting rocks to paint. You can ask them to use their imagination or ask them to paint something specific to challenge them. You can buy outdoor chalk for super cheap and let them go crazy outside with the chalk. Ask them to draw something they see outdoors that they think , they could make interesting designs from.

Other wonderful long lasting tasks to keep their minds to top working performance would be reading. Take them to the library or book store to pick out a new book that they have never read before. Make your own math sheets for your child's age. If you think they are ready put in a few harder math problems to teach them the way it works, then see if they can do a few on their own. Nothing beats a good sit down chatting session to keep them interested in the family. Spend time just talking and learning more about your child and their interests and go from there. If you see or hear something that you think they would be highly interested in , try to think of ways to implement that for your summer learning.

Keeping things simple, basic, and fun, goes along way in keeping your child's mind keen and full of wonder. As long as they always wonder, they will always learn. That is just what we want them to do. Work with them and enjoy yourself. You never know you just may learn something along the way!