With summer break in full swing, many parents are searching for ideas to keep their children engaged until school resumes. Working in the education field, summer learning, engagement and enrichment is a topic I get asked about a lot.
I polled our team at Teachers on Call for the inside scoop on 5 suggestions to make summer learning fun for students (and their families).
Try kids’ tech toys
If you have a young techie or aspiring coder, you may want to try out some tech gadgets and gizmos. Many modern options are app-connected, equipped with stories, songs and games. A warning that tech toys can come at higher price points, so family members may want to pool their resources, look for summer sales or even borrow toys from friends. For some fun options for little learners, check out Edwin the Duck and Bee-Bot Programmable Floor Robot.
Learn a second language
The summer holiday presents a great opportunity to practice or learn for the first time a second language like French or Spanish. Popular recommendations to strengthen language skills include utilizing educational apps, reading books, singing songs, and watching television and movies with English subtitles.
Read over the summer
Reading over the summer is one of the most popular recommendations from educators. Visit your neighbourhood bookstore or local library with your little one to pick out some new reading material. Looking for inspiration? National Geographic Kids has great activity-oriented options for young readers like Beach Day Sticker Activity Book. Here are further suggestions on our summer booklist for elementary students including a family read-aloud.
Take STEAM field trips – Extracurricular trips are a great opportunity to expose students to new learning and cultural experiences. STEAM (Science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) is all the rage is the education world. Visit your local science centre, zoo or museum for some enriching adventures outside of the classroom.
Play family board games
Playing board games can be a great bonding activity and teaching tool for students to build on academic skills over the break. For a classic favourite with a new twist check out Old MacDonald Had a Truck Bingo. If you are looking for a modern math game to sharpen numerical skills, look into Mobi. For more board game ideas, try out this list.
What is your family trying out this summer?
