Brain Drain
Math Is Everywhere
Math opportunities are all around you. Take younger kids to the grocery store and let them count the items in the cart. Or ask them to add up the cost of the items. When you’re driving, have kids compare the number of green cars they see with the number of red cars.
Use Online Resources
If the library isn’t convenient, you can start a summer reading camp online. Education.com has several resources, including an online reading program called Do-It-Yourself Summer Reading Camp. New themes are introduced each week, complete with arts and crafts activities and conversation topics. Older kids can read 10 books, take the summer reading quiz and enter to win a Kindle prize pack.
Make Learning Fun
Relax, Brown says. It’s summertime and although you may want kids to learn, you don’t want them to feel as if they’re still in school. Make reading something they will want to do—not something that they have to do. Find books they love, and don’t discount graphic novels and comic books. The books may have a lot of pictures, but they will still boost vocabulary and comprehension.
Lead by Example
Read in front of your kids. It seems simple, but reading in front of your children can have a huge impact on them. When kids see you reading books, newspapers and eBooks, they will follow your example and see the importance of reading for pleasure. “Send a clear message that literacy is important,” Brown says.
The Write Stuff
Get kids talking—but also writing. The National Summer Learning Association recommends having kids keep a summer journal about the books they’ve read to get them writing, thinking and talking. But don't stop there! Journals can include anything from their thoughts and questions to the stories they write, themselves.
Technology Is Your Friend
There are so many apps out there that can help kids practice math and reading. Common Sense Media has a list of math apps for kids ages 3 to 13 that go from learning to count all the way up to geometry. There’s even an app to teach parents how to engage children in learning. It’s called Parents Play and Learn from PBS Kids and was created after a survey discovered that many parents have anxiety about teaching kids math.
