THIS ISSUE:
Summer Learning Tips for Kids
Dear Arizona Promising
Practices Subscriber,
Welcome to another online
addition of the Arizona Promising Practices forum. For those new to
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basis, will focus on:
(1) Recommended National
Education websites; and
(2) One promising
practice article in condensed form. We welcome your recommendations
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is a FREE resource of the Arizona Department of Education.
In this issue of the
Promising Practices Forum we have been asked to identify tips to
share with children for summer learning. This practical guide
provides tips for parents that will make learning during the summer
months a fun challenge for school aged youth.
National Website of
Importance
- If you are a
teacher or parent who does not have time to do individual website
searches for education, check out Sites for Teachers http://www.sitesforteachers
.com/. This
website provides a cluster of learning sites that cover all areas of
academics.
Promising Practice
Research and Tips
Summer is not a vacation
from learning
As summer
vacation approaches, families often make plans to put away the
deadlines that come with schoolwork, and look forward to a
less-pressured schedule of learning activities. While this is a
perfectly appropriate expectation, parents should remember that summer
vacation isn't an excuse for children to take a "vacation"
from learning.
Skills mastered during the school year fade with disuse. Loss of
content retention begins within 24 to 48 hours of learning, unless the
new information is reinforced or applied immediately. Within a month
without reinforcement, most of what your child has learned is lost.
Here are some tips for parents to stimulate their child's interest and
curb the summer learning gap:
Math
activities
To keep up math skills, buy books of number puzzles at any bookstore.
Or consider investing in math-related computer games.
Teach children who have allowance or regular spending money how to
budget. Ask them to make a two-day column list of expenses and income.
Under expenses, they list what they expect to spend for movies,
lunches, etc.
Then, have your youngsters add all the expenses and subtract the total
from the income. Ask them to think of ways to reduce their spending.
If their income is more than their expenses, talk about a savings
plan.
Social studies activities
If you're taking a family vacation, send for brochures that describe
the history and culture of the places you'll be visiting. And help
your children plot the trip on a map.
Help your child learn about people from different countries. Suggest
talking to neighbors from foreign countries, reading library books
about other cultures, reading newspapers and watching TV specials.
Writing activities
To keep writing skills current, but children a notebook and let them
decorate the cover. Then tell them it's their vacation journal, and
have them write down three things that happen each day.
Have your child write to distant grandparents, family members, or pen
pals. This activity will tell you a lot about achievement in language,
spelling and reading.
Help your children improve their thinking and writing skills by
looking carefully at newspaper, magazine and TV advertisements. What
is the main point of the ad? What details does it use to communicate
its message?
Reading activities
Take your children to the library regularly. Most libraries sponsor
summer reading programs with easy-to-reach goals for preschool and
school-age children. Check the library calendar for special summer
reading activities and events. Libraries also provide age appropriate
lists for summer reading.
As a family, choose an important news event to follow for a day or
two. Ask each person to find as much information on the topic as
possible; read newspapers, listen to the radio, watch TV news. Then
talk about what everyone has learned.
Other tips
Speak with your child's counselor or teacher before summer to
determine academic strengths and weaknesses. This will help you
prepare for the school year ahead.
Figure out ways to make hobbies educational . A child who loves to
collect baseball cards, for instance, could practice penmanship by
writing fan letters to players, math by keeping track of their
statistics and reading by taking out books on baseball from the
library.
Stimulate curiosity and love of learning by planning family trips to
the zoo, museums, a local newspaper office, the beach and other places
packed with learning opportunities.
Source: It Starts on the Frontline/May 2000, published by the
National School Public Relations Association, 15948 Derwood Road,
Rockville, MD 20855: (301) 519-0496
