Summer is here, how do we help our kids retain their knowledge?

Question

It's so easy to slip into summer time laziness, and let the kids run, play, look at the computer or watch TV all day. I need some good suggestions for how to keep my kids sharp and retain all the knowledge they gained during the school year. We have manditory reading hour every day, and I limit their TV and computer time, I want them to have fun, but not forget everything they learned. Some good web site suggestions, or maybe a site for me to figure out an agenda of academic work to complete over the summer. My kids are ages 10 and 8 years, they will be in the 5th and 3rd grades next year. If anyone has any suggestions for age appropriate web sites we can visit that are educational and fun, or any activity that supports education, I would appreciate all submissions.

Answer 1

I think it is important to set aside 20 minutes a day for reading. Your children need to keep the skills they have developed throughout the school year. One way of doing this is hang out at    your local library. Most libraries will have some sort of summer reading program where the kids can read a certain amount of time and get prizes  for reading. My kids really like doing this in the summer. Summer Weekly Readers are a good thing. Just get your kids to read about things they are interested in. Also practice math facts too. You don't have to spend all day doing school things. Get into a routine for the summer.

Answer 2

summer is for being lazy once the kids are grownups they'll be working with what two weeks vacation a year.  Let them be lazy and enjoy their summers before they become adults

Answer 3

i learned a hundred times more in the summer than during the school year, get them involved in different clubs, teams, organizations,etc. that they are interested in. If you are concerned with acadamics, have them complete a math workbook over the summer and have a summer reading list for them. Reading can be quite enjoyable even for the unruliest of kids (i had severe adhd and i liked it if i liked the book)

Really tho, one fourth of the school year is simply review from the previous year, so i wouldn't be worried about them getting behind

Answer 4

You can take them to Sylvan. You can call. They help your kids to keep them on track.

Answer 5

When my kids (a boy and a girl)  were younger I always asked them what they wanted to learn during the summer. One year it was how to make candy, another how to sew, another to make a quilt.

With the candy making they learned how to measure, fractions, the different ingredients, how to read a recipe, how to use a stove and oven, mixer, and other appliances. With sewing I let them choose a simple pattern for a pair of shorts and the material and thread. They learned how to read a pattern, take their measurements, lay out the pattern, cut out the pieces, use a sewing machine, read the instructions, put the pieces together and they ended up with shorts they could wear. The following summer my son wanted to make a quilt so we went to garage sales and found old pairs of jeans and cut them up to make the quilt pieces and I showed him all the steps to make the quilt. He's 28 now and still uses the quilt. All kids need to learn their way around the kitchen and how to sew at least a hem or buttons.

Take this special time with your kids to really enjoy them, have fun with them and teach them the things they don't learn in school. Have fun!

Answer 6

The most important academic skill to retain and build up is reading.  People like to read about what interests them.  

When I was in the third grade, I liked comic books, and read them whenever I could.  They helped me understand and retain the spelling system of our language.

When I was in junior-high school, I was especially interested in fishing, so I got a copy of the "Wise Fisherman's Encyclopedia" and read through all of it.

So tell your kids that you expect them to spend at least SOME time reading each day, though emphasize to them that they can read about anything at all they are really interested in.

If you do this, you will find they will retain the most important skills they are being taught in school.

Harleigh Kyson Jr.

Answer 7

What I find really works is getting books at your local bookstore for children going into 5th and 3rd grade. They have activities that follow your most schools 5th or 3rd grade curriculum. The activities range from math, science, social studies, reading, writing, spelling, and grammar. Make them do 2 pages or activities a day. I usually have my kids do them at night before bed because they get upset if they have educational work to do in the middle of the day. Also private tutors which can take up more time and money but if you are really worried about your children forgetting, there are special summer tutors that will review all that they have learned and help stick it into there heads. Also for taking educational day trips helps alot to. Last summer I signed up for a program at a mueseum directed by a tour guide and my kids and me included learned alot and it was a ton of fun. There is a website called www.brainpop.com which has 2-5 minute reviews of all different subjects. I found this really helped my children and the rule for this was every time they went on the computer they had to do a brain pop. At the end of the short video there is a quiz that can be taken and I make my kids take the quiz to make sure they were paying attention and learning something from the video. I hope these options help!