Summer activities can be educational as well as fun!
“I’m bored!” Does this sound familiar? The summer starts feeling really long when you have bored children at home. That’s why we’ve whipped up a list of summer activities for your kids to enjoy that are educational, inexpensive and encourage children to get outdoors and moving.
Get Moving
Making physical activity part of your child’s daily regimen helps them to stay healthy and gets them interacting with their peers. Instilling an appreciation for nature is also a wonderful gift to give your children. Studies show a direct correlation with the number of times children are exposed to nature when they are young and their appreciation for the great outdoors as adults.
Walking is a great way to get moving. You can set up a scavenger hunt around your neighborhood or in your local park. Walking in nature reserves is even better! Most nature reserves have free summer programs where children can learn about wildlife and plants.
Public swimming pools also provide a welcome reprieve from the summer heat and a chance to meet new friends from your neighborhood.
Get Some Fresh Air
Backyard camping or camping trips are a great way to teach kids basic survival skills. Learning to make a fire, cook food, put up a tent and identify birds, plants, wildlife and stars are all fun activities.
Work together with your family to make some bird houses, bird feeders and a bird bath. Then sit quietly in the backyard to watch the different kinds of birds that come to your new bird station. You can use a bird call app to attract birds to your garden. Identify different species of birds using the bird app.
Volunteering
This is a great way for students to spend their free time in the summer. No matter what their interests, they can find a charity that needs help. From exercising horses to environmental clean ups, being civic-minded is a great way to teach values.
Academics
If your child got a bad report card, or if they want to improve their grades in the coming academic year, just a couple of hours a week in the summer can really jump start their new academic year. Start by getting the curriculum for the coming year so your student can read prescribed books and ensure that they have no gaps in their knowledge base that would prevent them from grasping new materials.
If your child is moving to a different school or starting school, ensure that they have all the skills they need for dealing with higher grades, more independence and increased responsibility. Teaching them study, organizational and language and math skills will give them an enormous advantage in the coming year.
Consider getting an in-home and online tutor over the summer, even for just one or two sessions a week, to make a profound difference in your child’s grades and increase confidence as he enters school in the fall.