June 2008 Parent Newsletter

10 Tips to Accelerate Summer Learning

While summer is meant to be a time of rest and relaxation, it can involve more than just visits to the pool and video games. With a little creativity and planning, summer can become a learning paradise.

Teachers spend four to eight weeks every fall re-teaching material students have forgotten over the summer. In fact, many students lose the equivalent of one month of reading and math skills during summer break. That doesn’t mean children should complete dozens of math worksheets and study hundreds of spelling words all summer. Instead, this is the perfect time to discover that learning is fun and easy. Here are a few ideas:

1. Continue reading: Take advantage of movies that are based on books appropriate for your child’s age, such as Hoot, James and the Giant Peach, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. If your kids haven’t seen these movies, read the books with them first and then see the move together. Then compare and contrast the two.
2. Keep writing skills fresh: Let your children choose notebooks and decorate the covers. Now they have summer vacation journals to record their thoughts and actions. They can write about three things that happen each day, using at least three nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Kids love to look back at prior summer journals to see how they spent the summer when they were “little.”
3. Retain math skills: Consider investing in a math-related computer game that is age appropriate. Don’t worry about your own technical skills; your kids will have the game loaded and ready within seconds.
4. Teach them about planning: Whether your family is going to a state park or across the country, have your children research the sites, the history and even the weather. Use your local library as a resource, as well as the Internet and a Farmer’s Almanac.
5. Cherish that library: As you know, your local library has learning opportunities galore. Play a summer reading game or enter a reading contest. You can also create your own contest at home with a chart, stickers, and prizes.
6. Start a collection: Help your child become an expert on a specific subject by starting a collection, like rocks and minerals or coins. Visit Web sites and the library together to learn more.
7. Visit a comic book shop: Comics make especially good reading material for visual and artistic learners because readers make connections between pictures sequences and written text. Even if your child only reads comics this summer, he’s still reading.
8. Volunteer together: Your local homeless shelter or food pantry will happily accept any time you can provide and will help you choose the right activity for you and your child. Teaching your child about gratitude and giving is a life-long lesson.
9. Turn a museum visit into a scavenger hunt: Most museums provide a list of objects for kids to find throughout the building, whether in a painting or part of a sculpture. This activity engages all ages, from Kindergarteners through sixth grade.
10. Make chocolate fondue: First let your kids choose fresh fruit (and chocolate) at the grocery store. During preparation, explain how following directions when cooking is key. They’ll be delighted with the final result.

2008 Parent Newsletters

November	Top 10 Educational Terms: Minus the Jargon
October	Let the Homework Begin
June	10 Tips to Accelerate Summer Learning
May	Education in the Garden: Planting a Pizza
April	Helping Your Children Juggle School and Sports
March	Spring Break: Add Education to Your Vacation
February	Launching a Three for Me Program at Your School
January	Easing Children's Test-Taking Anxiety

2007 Parent Newsletters

December	10 Tips for Choosing the Best Holiday Learning Gifts
November	Happy Thanksgiving: Teaching Children Gratitude
October	School Safety: What Every Parent Should Know