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by Tabitha Grace Smith
It’s June and most kids across
the United States are out of school or are soon to be out of school.
Most parents are well acquainted with the wonderful phenomenon that
happens shortly after school lets out: Summer boredom. Choruses of
“I’m bored” will soon ring in every household and
parents will be stuck with the daunting task of thinking up something
new to do. Thankfully, there are a ton of resources available for
parents looking for fun, creative, and (maybe even) educational
activities for their child to do this summer.
CreativeKidsatHome.com
– has a great list of creative projects for kids to work on at
home. Combining some of these crafts with books on the subjects they
address (such as the fossil activity with the book “A Dinosaur Named Sue”) can add layers of learning to a very simple project.
KidsDomain.com
– features a ton of activities, crafts, and backyard games
parents and kids can do during the summer. There’s even a great
list of recipes that are perfect for barbeques, parties, or just
enjoying at home.
KidSourceOnline.com
– has a great list of articles about keeping the summer busy,
educational, and interesting for the child in your home. There’s
even a list of new activities to do each day that you could write on
the family calendar.
Family Fun –
Plan on going camping this summer? Check out this fun list of camping
tips, camp songs, recipes, activities, and crafts for the outdoors!
Kaboose
– is chock full of articles for families, for moms, and for kids.
Kaboose features tips from the website writers and users like a
recent fun article for mom on getting your feet ready for sandal-weather. For kids, there are summer printables great for the car or for just keeping busy. There’s even a guide to stress-free family travel.
Stretcher.com
– has a great article by a real life mom on 200+ activities to do
with kids during the summer. Tasks range from blowing bubbles to
cleaning under the bed!
Amazing Moms
– has a great list of art projects that most kids can do
independently or with some help from a parent or guardian. One of my
favorites involves painting with an actual fish. Check it out!
AceFitness.com
– This PDF contains great physical activities for kids to do
during the summer. A lot of these activities can be done at your local
community center. If you don’t have a local community center, ask
parents in the area for places they suggest might be used for classes and sport
teams, or check your local library.
This list is just a small subset of the great information available to
parents to help them keep kids busy over the summer. Check out your
favorite parenting magazines, blogs, and websites for more great tips
and tricks!
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All
young people experience learning losses when they do not engage in
educational activities during the summer. Reasearch shows that students
typically score lower on standardized tests at the end of the summer
vacation than they do on the same tests at the beginning of summer
vacation.
Click here to read more. (pdf)
Allowed
to learn at their own pace, students become more confident in their
capability and more motivated to engage in the learning process.
Infused into the classroom, this confidence and motivation is a potent
agent of change in other childrens attitudes towards education.
- Dr. Anna T. Cianciolo
Senior
Research Scientist at Global Information Systems Technology, Inc. and a
former postdoctoral associate in the PACE Center at Yale University
Want to help your child succeed over the summer?
Take your MINDsprinting lessons with you during the summer.
Have a question you'd like answered? Check out our FAQ section.
Looking for a unique birthday gift for a friend?
Why not give them MINDsprinting?
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