Ok moms - don't know your schedule, but my kids only have 3wks of school left so I am in planning mode. I work part time from home so I need a plan of educational activities so their brains don't turn to mush in front of the tv. Here is what I have so far. Let's share our plans and ideas. My kids are finishing up 1st and 3rd grade, they read above grade level and do well in school. Please offer any ideas!!! Along with my educational plans there will lots of playing outside, trips to beach, free play etc.
Read 30 mins-1hr each day and do a summary of 4-8 sentences depending on age.
Spelling - take mispelled words from the story summaries and create spelling lists to practice.
Math - fun math websites, practice telling time, counting money and pratice multiplication and add/sub facts.
Science - Watch DVDs and shows and do summeries and questions. Research animals and do presentation of facts, drawings/sculptures. Paper mache solar system while learning of each planet. Geography - study different places and do project/crafts/models.
Poetry on different topics.
Create their own "Wonderland" complete with story, creaturs, drawings, etc.
Please share your summer/plam and ideas - educational or just fun and creative.
Thanks,
Also, I should add that they are excited about most of this - not so much the story summaries. But the Science and studying poetry were their ideas. I told them to "think big" - what do they want to learn about, learn how to do etc. They don't see this as punishment or anything, they like it. And it really only takes up a few hours a day and then they do "fun stuff" whatever they want. They really like to do projects.
Denise P. - Yes, we actually do all of that fun stuff too on top of an hour or two most days learning. Like I said, I work from home part time and this "plan" is to use for times when I need to be home working and I don't want them just sitting in front of the tv for 5 hrs.
We are going through (as best my kids are able with a 5,3 and 1 year old) the Dangerous book for Boys and the Daring book for Girls
DBFB:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0061243582/ref=as_li_ss_til?tag=...
DBFG:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0061472573/ref=as_li_ss_til?tag=...
They are Jam packed with all sorts of hands on learning!
You have lots of great ideas. We do the summer reading program at the library. We read anyway, so it's great for the kids to get all the rewards. For spelling, there's a good website: spellingcity.com. You can input your spelling lists, and the kids can play games using those words, and even do a spelling test. Whenever we drive we listen to books on tape (kids pick them out at the library). Letterboxing is a great family activity. You can look it up at atlasquest.com. We have discovered lots of new parks and outdoor places to explore through letterboxing. For writing practice, my oldest (finishing 1st) loves to journal. He'll pick something he did the day before to write about and draw a picture to go with it. Enjoy your summer!
I have my kids take pictured when we go on fun outings. Then when we are journal writing, they love to use the pics to help them write! We go to the library every week to pick out books to read for the week. I try to go the same day every week, just to create a schedule, it works for us.
Whoa! I don't want to spend the summer at your house!
I plan to continue with reading every day--or at least 4-5 days per week.
I plan to take my son to the pool, the waterpark, the amusement park, to the county park, to outdoor free concerts, to ride go karts, to the beach, on a canoe trip, to see Big Time Rush, to play baseball, to Pirates games, to the library, to play tennis.
That's what summer is for. To be a kid. And play.
You know your kids best and what they are capable of and what they like, so it's a little hard to comment. If this was my 3rd grade daughter, she would be good with the reading but having to write summary sentences would be a losing battle, so I would just have her tell me about the story and we would discuss it. She would like the math. Science, which she loves, would need to be hands on - doing experiments and building things. I would take her to the zoo and combine that with some animal research, and take her to a planetarium and then do the study of the solar system. She loves any kind of theater and so would enjoy creating a story and doing drawings for a backdrop or building some kind of set (we've done this on a rainy day).
I agree with putting some amount of structure in place along with the outdoor and play time. You sound much more structured than I am, though.
My kids were SO mad at me for making them "do school" last summer. ;-) (Baby born in December, and I wanted to be able to take a good deal of time off then.)
This summer, we're unschooling. I'm just not TELLING them they're learning. :-D
I have found that my dd loves to IM me, and that's been a fun, different way to get her to work on her spelling and punctuation.
If they really don't want to do story summaries, I'd let that one go. Why? Because you are asking them to entertain themselves, and this is one where you are going to have to 'put your foot down'. It also detracts from the fun of reading, and they might spend longer at it if they don't feel there's an onerous task ahead. Let that live in their Sept-June 'school' world. Could they summarize at the lunch table, or at dinner, so it's less formal?
I love the coin counting idea. I did a coin activity with children a few years ago, which included noticing mint marks, years of coins (which is the oldest? the newest?), noticing the many different pictures on coins (why does each state quarter have the picture it does?... there's a good 'research' one) and even had the children draw their own 'commemorative coins' on paper. They loved it.
Heraldry (coats of arms, symbols) is also another big fun one with a lot of opportunities for creative play and extention. With a good book or some downloaded info, each child can create their own 'coat of arms', crests... with one group, they were given paper and string to make rows of these symbols to festoon on cardboard box 'castles'. Some children at this age are very excited about knights, princesses and dragons.
I love the idea of taking lots of pictures and journaling. Maybe get them clipboards for local educational outings and let them document/draw/create a game based on where they are and/or what they are looking at. Sidewalk chalk works for this too. Creating games challenges multiple areas of thinking.
You could also do some fun stuff with poetry. Poetry line-find: give them each one ambigous line of poetry from their books,and have them search for the line and it's meaning. Judith Viorst has some wonderful kids poetry, and I know the library is full with good poets that are fun for kids to read.
I also wonder if some of the presentations could be more fun if they were done through dramatic play. This sort of production could be a 'show' for visiting family or friends. Kids love to perform.
Would they want to keep up a newspaper during the summer, where they can show off their new knowledge of their town, any kid-appropriate current events?
My son is four and I'm a preschool teacher, so we do have some hidden educational agendas going on this summer. Visits to the zoo, fountain/water observations, (he can reproduce certain fountains with blocks, already) trips to watch the big machines, wherever they might be. I will be encouraging him to find a "letter/number of the day" to boost recognition, so we'll pack a stack of index cards with those on them in the backpack.
We have a sandbox which will be covered, and endless water play. Lots of science opportunities!
He's also crazy about dinosaurs and I've got some fun ideas: going to the playground and measuring out how long/tall a couple species of dinosaurs are on a given trip and drawing them out with chalk; drawing out a few dinosaurs with numbers or letters on them for a "run to the letter/number game". Usborne makes some great science books with loads of kid-friendly experiments (they involve safe materials) and one poster here has a site for the same:
I'd encourage you to check it out. I plan to use some of the experiments myself. Kids really learn more from the hands-on work than from secondhand observation, from my experience.
Other than that, I've got an unschooling bent in that I want my son to play and learn at what he is interested in. That could mean "How many dinosaurs are going to fit into your Tonka truck?" and making predictions, or
"what will happen if we try to empty the bucket of sand into the bucket of water? Will it fit?" Ramps, cars, blocks, singing his made-up songs... I can't wait.:)
I'm making things real easy. My daughter is doing her regular school day M,W,F one week and T, TH the next. This way she'll work aprox half the summer. She can do what she wants the other days, even if it's veg in front of the tv.
Your kids also need time for free, creative play. Aim for a balance of the two. Museums and nature centers are good for combining play with learning. Also library summer programs with rewards.
