Summer Activities
GO ON A WORD HUNT
This activity helps your child build both reading and counting skills. Create a word list, writing each of the words on a sticky note. Hide each sticky note somewhere in the house. Help your child use the word list to search for as many of the words as he or she can find. Each time your child finds a word, ask him or her to read it out loud. Once your child has found all the words, read them again and count how many of each word he or she found. You can also build advanced skills by having your child use the words found to create a sentence or short story.
PLAY AN OUTDOOR MEMORY GAME
Practice words, math problems, matching, and more with this giant outdoor paper plate memory game. Gather up some paper plates and draw items on each. These can be shapes, colors, words, or numbers depending on what you want to practice with your child. Make sure you draw two of each item, so you have a pair. Spread the plates face down on the lawn and challenge your child to find the matches. To add an extra challenge for older children, play this game with numbers and ask them to add. You can even make cleanup a learning exercise by having your child pick up the plates in pairs.
BUILD VOCABULARY WITH A WORD JAR
Improve vocabulary skills with your child by creating a word jar. Fill a jar with pieces of paper that have a different word on each. Each day, let your child draw a word from the jar and ask him or her to define it. Challenge your child to use that word in his or her conversations throughout the day. You can adapt this activity for your child’s grade level and help him or her build vocabulary skills by adding more challenging words each week.
TURN A CARD GAME INTO MATH PRACTICE
Practice mental math and simple math equations with a deck of cards. Split the deck into two piles, placing a piece of paper with an addition or subtraction symbol between the two. Have your child flip over a card from each deck, solving the equation that appears. For an extra challenge, switch between addition or subtraction each time your child flips new cards.
PLAY DOUBLES GAME
(Sitting) Roll two dice
Add the dice two dice together, IF you roll a double (jump up!)
Double, double, jump, jump (jump up twice)
Double, double, pump, pump (pump fists)
Double, double, bump, bump (bump hips)
(Sit back down and the next person rolls)
SUGGESTED KINDERGARTEN APPS
Kodable
Scratch Jr.
Spelling Monster
Phonics Rhyming Bee
Sight Word Ninja
Abby Phonics
Endless Reader
Teaching Number Lines
Amazing Coins
Telling Time Games for Kids
SUGGESTED WEBSITES
xtraMath.org (sign up for a free account)
Funbrain.com
ABCya.com
- Tell Time - ABCya.com Time Travel Game
BrainPop Jr.
MoWilliams - SuperBounce Game