Many kids may benefit from summer learning. I know here in Georgia, many summer days are far too hot to hang outside for long, but I don’t want my kids just watching tv. Oftentimes, I purchase summer workbooks for kids or we go on adventures and explore the areas near where we live. There are several summer learning activities for kids that are worth sharing.
Adventure:
Take your kids on an adventure to a state park or somewhere that they haven’t been. Museums, zoos, and nature centers are all great ideas. You could set up a scavenger hunt for the kids to find certain nature items. Look up your local state park and mark your calendar for upcoming activities and then go! Learning by going and doing is a great way to stay active and learn this summer. Georgia residents, be sure to check your look library for the zoo pass. That brings me to the next point.
Library:
The Library is always a wonderful place to be during the summer. The books are endless, many have puzzles and games that can be borrowed, computer games, and of course – AIR CONDITIONING! During the summer, some will have special reading programs where your child can win prizes as they read and learn. Many may also have activities and special plays or other programs. Be sure to stop by and get their latest calendar of events.
Workbooks:
The workbooks that I have had experience with during summer are the Summer Bridge workbooks. These books are designed to “bridge” the gap between one grade to the next grade. The activities are typically more fun than you’d find in a normal school book.
A program just released that we have not tried out yet is the new Summer Brain Quest. As of this post, there aren’t any reviews on Amazon for them, however some should be up soon. There is a huge preview you can see for examples of what is in this book. I’m pretty impressed!
If you know your child needs a little help with a specific subject, you can also try the Kumon workbooks or Spectrum workbooks.
Websites:
There are many websites that offer fun activities for kids that are perfect for summertime. Some are free and some are paid. We will start with the free ones first.
Free:
We love Xtramath.org. This is a great way to help reinforce math facts during the summer.
My kids really like to play on Multiplication.com. Don’t let the name fool you. Addition, subtraction, and division are all covered on this website through fun interactive games.
ABCYa.com is also a favorite. You can pick grade level and then venture on to math games, reading games, phonics, coloring, and more!
Paid:
ABCMouse.com is a good one that my kids enjoy. It holds their progress so they don’t have to start over each time they visit the site. That’s one benefit to this paid website.
ExplodeTheCode.com can help with phonics issues. It is a little pricey. We have the workbooks but haven’t tried the website yet.
Starfall.com offers a few free games and activities, but many are part of the subscription.
My kids have greatly benefited from ReadingEggs.com. Definitely recommend checking out this program.
Do you have other ways that you use to encourage summer learning activities with your kids? Please leave a comment and share!
Also check out our other summertime articles below:
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