Summer's here! So is the opportunity to support your children as they continue to learn and grow. In order to be ready for next school year, children must maintain and build upon what they have learned. Help them do this via fun activities that easily fit into your day and have the added bonus of strengthening children's bond with family and friends. Suggested activities include:
Create a summer scrapbook
Make a scrapbook using construction paper to log your summer experiences and activities. The scrapbook can include pictures, drawings, stories and items collected during your summer outings. When writing, consider: Where did you go? Who was there? How did you get there? What did you see or do there? What was your favorite part? What else do you want to try this summer? Compare and contrast what you expected versus what actually happened. Don’t forget to share your scrapbook once it’s complete.
Draw and write using sidewalk chalk
Step outside and let the creativity run free! Draw pictures or write words, cover them and come up with riddles to help others guess what you drew or wrote. How about creating group art with family and friends?
Start a family and friends book club
Family and friends vote on a book to read. Create a meeting schedule to discuss the book and engage in activities related to the book. For example, if your book club reads The Boy Who Grew Flowers, you can get together to discuss the remarkable talents of the main characters and the talents of your book club participants; you can also have an outdoor planting session on a sunny day. Did you know that our Semirosas Book Club is a great source of book suggestions?
Car activities
Read out loud to the riders: Anyone that has taken a long road trip with me knows that this is one of my favorite car activities. Just make sure the reader isn't prone to car sickness.
Tell fill-in-the-blank stories. One person tells a story aloud and stops periodically to have someone else fill in the blank.
Play Twenty Questions. One player is the answerer. All other players are questioners. Questioners take turns asking a question which can only be answered with "Yes" or "No," such as "Is it something you eat?" or "Does it have wheels?" The questioner who guesses the correct answer wins. If questioners ask 20 questions without guessing correctly, the answerer stumped the questioners and gets to be the answerer for another round.