School Bell: Keys to Summer Learning

Three things you can give your child to help them maintain school skills during the summer are:

    1- Routines
           Absent the consistent and predictable routines of a school day, the summer's looseness makes re-entering school a challenge.  Provide elements of patterns and routine to your summer days and the transition back to school will be smoother. They won't be the same as during the school year, but the days can still have a routine that fits summer.

    2- Accountability
            True, you aren't likely to be assigning "homework" or giving detentions for missed deadlines. But, if you want them to find it easier to follow through on school responsibilities in September, be sure to provide opportunities during the summer for them to do "projects" and be accountable for finishing them on schedule.

    3. Opportunities to think, observe, and record.
           Whether it is history, literature, science or more... thinking, observing, recording and three of the four things key to learning in my opinion.  [The fourth is practice.] Give your children as many opportunities as possible during the summer to think, to observe, and to record.

Check back on Tuesday [Focus on Fostering] and Thursday
[Parenting Tips]. I'll give some examples of specific projects to gives kids a chance to do the three keys above.


Image credits: summer-school-2011.nfdl.k12.wi.us, girlzone.com, michaelhyatt.com, education.com