A large consideration for summertime is how to balance activities for children. One consideration that I offer is how to strike some balance between physical and sports related activities, social activities, and academic and/or thought based activities. Combining these areas of activity with continued structure for diet and sleep habits will often lead to a healthy and satisfying summer.
Here are a couple of ideas for academic and cognitive development activities:
*Consider a project based activity with in depth exploration and varied activities available for learning about the topic. You may consider topics that your child is interested in or ask them what they would be interested in learning more about this summer. Then, consider how you can provide opportunities for this learning via library resources, trips to places that provide exposure to the topic (i.e. museums, meeting people or professionals who know something about the topic, day trips). You may also find many affordable, easy to use, teacher based materials at www.teacherspayteachers.com.
*Set goals for reading that may include a number of books by the end of the summer or by the end of the month. It is important to set an attainable goal and set expectations and a schedule for when reading will be completed. You may also consider a reward at the end once the goal is met.
*There are likely many local camps that offer various activities for learning and cognitive growth. These may include local sports and rec programs, school programs, church programs, and local organizations. It can be very helpful to check with teachers and parents with same age children to see what they are aware of that is available.
Happy Summer!
