School’s out, or soon will be, for our kids. Kids attention spans are waning as the last days of school are passing and summer lay before them with promise of friends and long, lazy days. Parents are gearing up for lots of family togetherness and lots of fun in the sun.
With all the plans and dreams for the coming summer months, there is a gray cloud that hangs over this free time, and it’s tied to our kids’ education.
Three Months of Catch-up
To explain, we fast-forward to September, when our kids reenter the school with renewed energy thanks to their time off. The lesson plans are set, and in many school settings, are made up of a reintroduction of the skills and tools learned the previous year. The first weeks or even months of school are often spent walking the paths tread the year before. It’s a waste of time and resources for our kids and teachers.
There’s no way that all of the skills learned the previous year will be fresh in a child’s mind, but there is a simple plan that parents can initiate at home to lessen the time necessary to revamp and allow the lessons to move to new subjects.
A Little Planning Can be a Pound of Cure
So, how can you keep your kids mind sharp and reinforce those lessons learned in school this year?
Math
• Talk to your child’s teacher and see if you can get a list of the Math skills learned during the year. They may be able to provide you with practice sheets for you to use.
• If teacher doesn’t have the paperwork you need, then do a web search for your child’s grade and the subject you want to cover. Using the skills list from their teacher, you can choose the sheets that fit your kid’s lessons.
o
http://www.homeschoolmath.net/worksheets/g... o
http://www.tlsbooks.com/mathworksheets.htm o
http://www.softschools.com/grades/5thgrade... Reading
Plan for your child to have a summer reading schedule - one book a month for each month they’re out of school. After each book, have them do a short book report covering the book’s details that you can discuss together. This is a great time to introduce the classics to your child’s reading repertoire – White Fang, Huckleberry Finn, Dracula or whatever books they see that drive their imagination.
o Most large books stores carry kid-versions of these great books at prices as low as $5.99 each.
Initiate your child’s summer Math and Reading program and watch them adjust that much more quickly to the school routine next September.
Posted By: Paul Adams
Tuesday, June 22nd 2010 at 2:25PM
You can also
click
here to view all posts by this author...
