Summer can be a happy time, a time for memories to be made. It can also be a time for relaxed learning, strengthening skills kids may have struggled to master during the school year.
If you are planning to set up a "mini-classroom" around the kitchen table, though, do yourself a favor and drop that plan. Your children -- even if they like schoo l-- have probably had just about enough formal lessons. This is a vacation, after all.
When it comes to summer learning, there should be only two rules: 1. Be creative. 2. Have fun.
Try starting a large jar full of little notes about activities your can choose, one a day. Have materials ready ahead of time and get ready for action. Here are some ideas to get you started:
Count the pretzels (or raisins, macaroni, candies). A pre-packaged sandwich bag of snack food may be counted. Make it more challenging by having the child write the number. Let her eat three. Now how many is there? Write the arithmetic problem which tells about that (12-3=9).
Use numbers that would easy for your child to understand. OK, now that he has nine, suppose he eats two? Then make a new problem. There are endless ways you could play this.
Writing in the sand. This activity can be played at the beach or in the kitchen. Just sprinkle a cookie sheet with salt or sugar if you aren't at the beach. Spell words, write numbers, copy words from cereal boxes or make lists of words beginning with the same letter as your child's name.
If your child has trouble forming letters correctly, be sure to guide her fingers through the sand so that she can get a feel for writing correctly. Praise, praise, praise. Remember, this must be fun.
Baking cookies. Now don't think this has to be from "scratch," although this is a wonderful activity, too! You can take a roll of refrigerator cookies bought at the store and read with your child the directions for baking.
Count the cookies, record the numbers in each pan, let your child write words or letters on top of each. Use math and writing in any way you can. And then let everyone munch a warm cookie as it comes from the oven. This can be a delicious memory.
Write a story about something you like to do. If your child isn't spelling yet, have her tell you the story and you write the words. Use simple sentences so that she can see and remember the words.
An example would be, "I went to get an ice cream cone. It was chocolate. It was very cold. It tasted good." Not very exciting? Maybe not, but it is a simple task which doesn't take too long and can add to reading vocabulary. Come back to it later for review. You might cut the words out and make flashcards of them. Say things like, "Aren't you smart? I guess I can't trick you."
Plan a trip to the library. Notice I didn't write, "Go to the library." Your child might choose this activity on a day when a trip is inconvenient. Plan the trip. Write on the calendar just which day you will go. Talk with them about what sort of books they would like. Enjoy the time together.
Plan a trip to the market .Again, the key word is plan. Let your child write down your grocery list. (Don't worry about correct spelling if your child is younger than second grade. Just have him write the sounds he hears in the word.) If it's a long list and it is becoming frustrating, then you finish it.
Supermarkets can be wonderful places for children to develop their language skills. Talk to him about the various fruits and vegetables by name. Next trip see how many he can recall. When you get home, make lists of all the foods you saw that began with "M" or "B."
You might have him tell you how many vegetables he remembers. Fruits? Dairy products? Remember that building your child's vocabulary increases success in school. What other "Plan a trip to …" activities can you create?
Watch TV. Yep, you read this correctly. Tell your child, "The program you choose has to be something I approve of, and you need to write about it later" (or tell about it, using sentences). You might even ask your child to act out a scene from the program you watch. Using language correctly enhances reading skills as well as interest in books. And it's fun.
Read a story. If your child doesn't read independently yet, you may read to him. Afterwards, ask your child re-tell the story to you (or act it out). This is a favorite activity and you might have several slips in the jar with this on it. You can never read too much to your child, nor can you encourage reading too much. This is the foundation of all that your child will do in school.
Have a scavenger hunt. This takes a little preparation on your part. In advance, make a list of simple things to find around the house. Help your child read the list, then turn him or her loose to find the objects. Examples would be a dirty sock, a ball of lint, something with words written on it, something blue, something that rolls, something that is smooth or something rough.
Teach them to be organized by showing them how to check off each item as it is found. Have fun with them. Celebrate their childhood.
Write a letter. This can be a rewarding time. If you can, purchase some inexpensive stationery or take plain paper and let your child put stickers on it for decorations. Now they're ready to begin.
Does Grandma live in another city? Is there an Aunt Sue who would love getting a letter? Cousins are fun to write to because writing to another can be a lifetime activity. If you don't have relatives to write, perhaps your child would like to write her teacher. Teachers love to hear from their students.
Help your child decide what she wants to say. The letter doesn't need to be long. The point is to finish it. Then you help address it, let your child stamp it and walk them to the nearest mailbox, saying, "What a great job on the letter. Aunt Sue will love it."
Flash cards . Teachers use flash cards for reading or arithmetic problems. You can purchase sets of cards at your child's grade level or make your own from words in her books. Many activities can be planned around these cards, besides just showing each card and letting the child read it quickly.
Word cards can be arranged in sentences. Your child can use them to tell a story. They can be sorted into piles of words beginning with the same letter or sound. Find rhyming words, opposites, or add "ing."
Play a game. This one is easy. There are so many good board games for children these days. If you don't have any, check your nearest thrift store to see what they have. Most involve spinning a wheel or dice and counting out spaces. Any time you can have children counting, recognizing numbers and concentrating, you are building for future successes in a classroom.
If you play a game with your child, you are building a memory. Keep a deck of cards handy. Games teach skills, help your child to be disciplined and allow him to experience the thrill of victory as well as the agony of defeat, all within the safe space of home. Laugh with your children.
And don't "let" them win every game, for losing is a very important part of life. But be sympathetic when they lose.
You can see then that building skills for school does not have to be "playing school." You may be able to think of many more or variations of the ones listed. The point is to have fun with your children while they are learning and showing off what they already know. Let them impress you and make you laugh. And don't act like a drill sergeant. Reward jobs done well.
When summer is over and your children return to school, you can give yourself a pat on the back for creating a summer full of memories. You will smile to yourself as you recall trips to the supermarket, watching your child increase his vocabulary and remember happy games and all that laughter.
And long after your children are grown, they may remember happy summers with a parent who gave him good quality time, unconditional love, laughter and warm cookies straight from the oven.
Raynette Eitel was an elementary teacher for more than 20 years before becoming a school counselor in Colorado Springs, Colorado.