Six Tips on How to Keep Learning Alive over the Summer

1. Provide Time.  Work with your child to select the best time for reading or working on activities. Suggest a time before your child has played and has become tired and hungry.

2. Provide Materials. Have sharpened pencils with erasers, a ruler, scissor, a glue stick, extra paper, and crayons ready in a tub or a box. Store the supplies and activity sheets, flashcards, practice books, etc in a special box or area that is easy for the child to reach.

3. Provide Lots of Encouragement and Support.  Your response is important to your child’s feelings of success. Use stickers, stamps, or hand-drawn happy faces to recognize a job well done. Keep your remarks positive. Recognize effort!

4. Encourage Reading. Read to your child every day. Talk about the story and ask what it was about. Visit the public library and sign up for summer reading programs and activities. Children who can read by themselves should read for at least 10 to 20 minutes every day.

5. Keep it Short and Fun. Create a relaxed and positive attitude toward learning.

6. Go on “Learning Excursions.” Take advantage of  all the opportunities in our area that can help to increase your child’s learning; car rides, shopping trips, special family outings. Take a nature walk; look, listen, and touch to explore the outdoors. Explore our community to identify special places such as the Walter Elwood Museum, Fort Johnson, Guy Park Manor, Animal Land, Eagle Mills, etc.