Summer Fun

Summer vacation – that long stretch of time that our children enjoy because it provides a break from the daily schedule of classroom learning.  However, their young brains are like dry sponges, and even without a formal school lesson, they are soaking up information and experiences. This week MJ Radock, a member of our parish who is also an elementary teacher in the Fairview School District, provides us with some fun suggestions for watering those thirsty brains until fall.

Here are 5 fun ideas to help your child maintain those hard-won skills from this past year.

1. Read to your child- no matter what the age. You are modeling good reading skills as you stimulate the imagination. Ask who, what, where, when, why and how questions. Why did the bunny do that? What do you think will happen next? And so on.
2. Have your child read every day- at least as long as s/he plays video games! It can be a paired, group, or silent activity. Children can lose up to 6 months reading level during the summer. Daily reading should become a child's pleasurable choice. My mother would let me out of a chore until I was done reading!
3. Practice math facts. Those basic facts are necessary for math success. Practice can happen any time- even on the way to soccer practice. Parents all out a fact and the child answers. We are talking single digits here: 8+4 or 6 x 8. Let your child quiz you, too. To make it fun, you can use digits from a license plate or a billboard. Later, you can break out the playing cards and play Fact War. Remove the face cards first but leave in the Jokers- they are zeroes.
4. Get outside. Look for evidence of the life cycle of a bug or fruit. This is the summer of the cicada so look for their husks. If you are lucky, you will find a live one- a sight to remember! Go creek walking and look for fossils or interesting rocks. Look them up on the internet if you don't have books to identify them.
5. Map your backyard. You can even hide an apple or other snack and mark it on the map. If you are going on a trip, print out a map and have your child follow along and tell you when to turn.

 Dear God, I thank You for the gift of this child to raise, this life to share, this mind to help mold, this body to nurture, and this spirit to enrich. Let me never betray this child's trust, dampen this child's hope, or discourage this child's dreams. Help me, dear God, to help this precious child become all You mean him to be. Let Your grace and love fall on him like gentle breezes and give him inner strength and peace and patience for the journey ahead. Amen.