School is finally out for summer! There's no doubt your kids are excited to leave their laptops and notebooks at home and spend the summer days playing in the park, going to the beach, and catching up with friends and family. And, they deserve it! Of course, just because school isn't in session doesn't mean your child stops learning. We've put together five fun activities your kids can do to keep their brains active all summer long. Do you have activities to share? Email them to us at moments@achievementfirst.org.
Start a summer reading challenge.
Your kids devoted a lot of time and effort to improve their reading skills during the school year. It's important they maintain their progress over the summer. You can make reading more fun by creating a list of challenges they can complete. For example, one challenge can be reading to a pet, another can be reading a newspaper article to you during breakfast, or even reading a recipe to you while you cook. Here are two great lists of challenges you can use
here and
here. We periodically post book recommendations, so make sure to check out our
Pride,
Juneteenth, and
Spring reading lists.
Nurture their inner writer.
Did you know journaling helps kids organize their thoughts and feelings, improve critical thinking and creativity while building their writing skills and self-confidence? Journaling is a simple activity kids can engage in every day for as long or little as they'd like. They can chronicle how they've spent their summers and have a record they can look back on or they can use daily prompts to reflect on to help them put pen to paper. You can use the prompts
here and
here to help your child get started.
Learn the science behind ice cream in a bag.
There are few things as great as a delicious scoop of ice cream to cool you down in the summer. With this simple activity, you and your kids can make homemade ice cream with only a few household supplies and ingredients -- and learn a little science making it. You don't need to be a teacher to teach your kids the science behind making ice cream in a bag; you can read the instructions or watch a how-to video
here.
Break out the deck of playing cards - because playing cards plus kids equals tons of fun math games.
Too hot to play outside? Is there a lightning storm on the way? All you'll need for this activity is a simple deck of playing cards. You can play
memory games to help keep your kids' minds sharp, and there are tons of card games to help your kids practice their numbers and simple math equations. This
website lists nine games you can play with your kids to help them sharpen their math skills.
Keep it local.
Your local library is not only a great resource for books, but also for plenty of other learning opportunities. Visit the websites of your local libraries to see what activities they have planned for the summer.
