SCOOP ON THE SUMMER LEARNING

American schools were traditionally designed to fit the needs of farmers. Children were released from school in late spring to help with planting and in fall to help with the harvest. Although today only 3% of our population makes their living in agriculture, this calendar still remains the standard.

As a result, exhilarated school children are freed from their academic entailments in June. Parents may not be as thrilled. Along with finding sitters and keeping kids safe, summer learning loss is a concern. Studies have proved that this loss is especially prevalent for students with special needs or of low social economic status. Math and spelling skills are most affected - possibly a result of the lack of opportunities to practice. So, let’s find some opportunities!

Summer school programs are a valuable intervention for academic enrichment and acceleration. Unfortunately, most Bay Area summer school classes have been canceled because of the lack of funding. There are many other commercial summer programs, but most of them cost money. If you are interested in finding one near you, check in with your local library, YMCA, or community center.

If you are unable to finance a formal summer program but still want to create opportunities for your children to practice academic skills, there are many no-fuss, homespun ways. 

Number Sense

Playing “I-spy” with numbers in the newspaper or a magazine reinforces number recognition. Ask your young ones to find the numbers in their address, their age, the ages of their siblings, parents, or their birth date and phone number.

Practice reading lists of numbers from left to right by perusing the stock market section. Using stock quotes can also facilitate reciting, writing, adding and subtracting larger numbers.

To bolster percentage and decimal proficiency, check the weather section in your newspaper or online and check climates across the nation and world. Sports fans can acquaint themselves with football, baseball and hockey statistics.

Reading and Writing Competence

Even for Kindergarteners, finding the letters in their name should be easy. To make it more challenging, have them distinguish between capitals and lower-case letters and locate basic words (ex: cat, mom, love).

Comprehension improvement, vocabulary development and sequential understanding can be supported through cartoon strips. Cut them out, mix them up, and have your summer students put them in order. Or select five pictures from a magazine and create a story to go along with the pictures.

Play a more advance version of “I-spy” and have older kids find news stories about government officials, editor’s opinions, weather reports and want ads.

Clip some examples of advertisement and see if you and the kids are able to find the secret messages hidden in the propaganda. Also identify the target audience. It's not as easy as you might think.

For some practical life skills, go through coupons and have the family guess the prices of various products.

Don’t forget to get physical. Whether it be dancing, skipping, swimming or biking, enjoy the nice weather and stay both mentally and physically active. Your brain and all your other muscles will benefit from these eclectic workouts this summer.

Contact Margaret Lavin at elementarydays@gmail.com.