Summer Fun With A Side Of Learning!

Summer is finally here. School is almost out. Activities are winding down. The sun is out. The temperature is rising. I really do love summer, but summer slump is real and with 2 kids in school I like to keep their minds active. Here are some fun activities we do during the summer to reinforce concepts they already know. Keep in mind my kids are young and also I don’t do any of these things unless they want to.

1. Crayons. We get them at almost every restaurant we go to. They are awesome for coloring and my older daughter often likes to do the activities on the kids menu. Another fun thing we do is take turns making letters out of crayons that someone else has to guess. This gets them identifying letters in a super fun way and gives my big girl a chance to creatively form letters.
2. Outdoor play. When we play outside; we play hard. Running, digging, dirt, climbing. My kids are active. I love to throw a little bit of fun learning in. I challenge them to find a plant and draw it. We look up the name online and learn about it. We count the plants around our home. I’ve done this with rocks, insects, and even birds. They love it and it keeps them both active and curious!
3. Water play. Of course we swim. And run through the sprinkler. But we also use various sized measuring containers to measure volume. We move water from one container to another. We freeze water and time how long it takes to melt at various temperatures. I’ve put toys in big blocks of ice and let them try to get it out. It’s fun to see how creative they can be!
4. Running. We do a lot of running at my house. I use running, biking, scooter riding, etc as a way to teach distance. My kids love to get out an old fashioned ruler and measure the distance that they ran or biked.
5. A family favorite is choosing a book or 7, sitting down under a shady tree, and reading. I get everyone involved, even the littlest ones by asking to identify pictures, colors, and shapes. They love interactive book reading. Now that my daughter is starting to read I anticipate a lot of this this summer. It’s a great way to bond, unwind or take a break, and still get some learning in.
6. Nature walks.
   

   We are fortunate to live in an area rich with nature and forest preserves. We often go walking with a pad of paper and a pencil. The kids draw interesting things they see which gives us something cool to talk about later at home and a good reason to sit and rest on hot days. We have a rule “leave nature in nature” so the pictures allow them to focus on the things that really interest or intrigue them. I’m always fascinated to see what stood out!

7. Last, we love to just take a walk around the neighborhood in the evening. The kids love to chat about their day, there are no distractions, and often we hear the best stories! My oldest daughter learned to tell when the sun was setting partially based on our evening walks!

I firmly believe summer is a time for kids to recharge. Relax. Have fun. It isn’t a time for stress or pressure. With these simple activities kids can both have fun and release the energy they so desperately need to and also keep working on concepts they first learned in a classroom. Instilling this love of fun learning has really helped my kids thirst for knowledge in other arenas such as school. There is a time and place for worksheets and there’s a time and place to gather the supplies to make a bird feeder and learn about native birds. Summer allows us so many opportunities for learning and fun, and fun learning!