Prevent summer learning loss.
Summer is a time for family fun and activities, but it is also important for students to stay sharp academically! Check out this blog post from Edutopia for seven ways to keep your child learning even when school’s out.
Put a poem on the pavement.
April is National Poetry Month and there are lots of ways to celebrate with your kids. Grab some chalk and a poem, draw out hopscotch squares and put a line in each square. Hop through reading the lines together. Not sure what poem to use? Explore poems and examples. Feel extra creative? Write poems together as a family.
Read the label!
These tips from the National Institutes of Health can help you use the Nutrition Facts labels on some of your favorite foods to make healthier food choices for you and your family. Read them with your kids as you are at the grocery store. Comparing calories per serving? Make it a game! You’ll build literacy and math skills, and be healthier for it.
Read the Sunday Comics.
No time on Sunday? Save the comics and read them together when you have time.
Read together!
Read a book, newspaper, magazine, the comics, anything will do as long as you are with your children.
Reading. It’s all fun and games.
For young kids, building skills around reading can be more than just stories at bedtime. These PBSKids Reading games work on creating words, making songs, decorating cakes, writing your own comic book, and more. Try some out tonight!
Ready to learn.
The kids will be heading back to school soon, so make sure they’re prepared. It’s easy to forget everything learned throughout the school year in the months of summer vacation. Take some time to go over what was learned last year in an informal setting that doesn’t feel like school. Read picture books or play games involving the topics so that your kids can pick up where they left off when they head back to school.
Red is for Stop and Tell Me Your Favorite Color.
Positive communication is a cornerstone to healthy relationships. Sometimes with our kids it’s hard to know what to talk about. Try this ice breaker the next time you’re not sure what to say. Get a bag of multicolor candy and assign each color a question, like Blue is what’s your favorite song right now? Yellow is share your favorite knock-knock joke? Each time you pull out a candy, someone shares an answer. Just make sure to listen to the answer before reaching for another treat!