Thank you for shopping my affiliate links. I appreciate your support!
I can’t believe that August is already within sight. They always say that June is the Friday, July is the Saturday and August is the Sunday of summer.
Although it will probably look very different, the school year is inching closer. Last spring, we all hit virtual learning pretty hard. Some may have excelled at it, but I think of you were like us and many others, it was a struggle to say the least.
I think it’s safe to say that this year summer slide is a thing for sure! We started getting back into academics in July, but if you haven’t yet, no worries! Here are a few things you can do for the last few weeks of summer to get your kiddos all geared up for the school year.
Workbooks
I like using a summer specific workbook with my kids. I feel like it gives that little extra structure too keep us all on track. We love these Brain Quest summer specific workbooks. They are filled with activities to review the previous grade level as well as previews for the upcoming school year. Best of all, there is a sticker treasure map. After each activity the kids get to place a sticker along the map. It may sound simple, but they work so her for the stickers 🤪.
They workbooks come in a variety of grade levels from preK through sixth grade.
Reading
Reading to and with your kids is so important. Just 20 minutes a day makes a huge difference. We always read a variety of books, from picture books to phonetic books Boston can read to chapter books.
Sometimes I read to the kids. Sometimes they read to me. Their reading includes simple books where they can read the word or just reading the pictures. When they read the picture they just tell the story in their own words, a great pre-reading skill.
Other times they listen to stories via FaceTime. Grandma helps a ton with this! If I need a second to get something done, we FaceTime grandma and she reads them a few stories. Win Win!
Practice Site Words/Math Facts
Practicing site words and math facts are rote memory activities, but are so important. They are also simple activities to practice at home.
There are several strategies to practice these skills. From flash cards to computer games, whatever you choose spending 10-15 minutes a day on site words and math facts helps your student to commit them to memory.
Check out education.com for a wide variety of free site words computer games. You just sign up for a FREE account!
Splash Learn is another great FREE website to practice math facts. Just sign up for your FREE account or try out the app.
Writing
Summer writing is my favorite! Most of our summer writing comes in the form of journaling and how-to essays.
My kids are pretty young, going into 4k and Kindergarten this fall. So their writing looks a little different than an older child’s.
Their journal entries and essays always begin with a picture. Elliana (4k) then dictates that she wants to write about. This is a beginning writing skill. I make sure her picture matches her thoughts.
Boston (K) also starts with a picture and dictates what he wants to write about. He however, takes it the next level by writing a simple phonetic/site word sentence describing is thoughts.
As they get older, they will both become more independent in their writing.
Summer learning doesn’t have to be too intense. We don’t do all of these activities each day. I will have to admit, if I don’t have the workbook planned, they always ask to do it. They really want to earn those stickers. The one activity that happens EVERYDAY is reading! I am sure that most of you already do that too!
If you have any questions on what you can do with you kids or specific age level/grade level questions please feel free to email me; snugglesandsnacks@gmail.com.
