LEARNING DURING THE SUMMER

Pick a shape (circle, square or rectangle) and have your children identify as many things as they can in your home with the same shape.

Hide something in your home or yard and give your children directions for finding it by taking a certain number of steps, turning a certain direction, etc. Children can also hide items and give the directions.

Involve your children in planning a celebration for a summer holiday or for a summer birthday. Work with them to make sure that important details are not forgotten or overlooked until it is too late.

Once a week, let your children prepare dinner. They can plan the menu, help shop for the ingredients they will need and organize their cooking so the meal is ready on time.

Encourage your children to draw by asking them to create pictures of their favorite things whose names begin with the first letter of your family name, with each letter in their names or with each letter of the alphabet.

Encourage children to read road signs and instructions along the highway.

Discuss articles that appear in the newspaper. With older children, follow a continuing story and discuss the issues.

Review with your children the information in the phone book. Help them discover the listings of parks, trails, calendar of events and other useful information.  Be sure they are familiar with the emergency numbers for your community.