by April Updike

Created on: August 21, 2009   Last Updated: August 22, 2009

It is a well known fact that the majority of students forget a good part of what they have learned over the summer months. In fact, I have heard from one source that they can loose up to 1/3. That is 3 months of lost information! In our house, we home school and we school year around mainly for this reason. I have devised a list of family friendly ideas that can be adapted for almost any age level to not only retain previously learned knowledge, but to also learn more. These activities don't have to be limited to the summer months. They can also be done on weekends, school breaks and evenings.

Play Math BINGO, I made mine from the plain (inside) cardboard on cereal boxes. I made squares and put numbers in each square. On small pieces of paper I wrote out all the multiplication facts through the 12's. The caller reads the problem, such as "6 x 6", and the kids look at their card. If they have a 36 on their card, they cover it (we use pennies as our covers). You could vary this game according to your child's math level for addition or subtraction. If you want to get fancy, laminate the cards so that it will last longer.

Keep a critter's notebook. Each week or every few days, add a new animal or insect. You can add coloring sheets, research the animal in books or on line and write a report about it. My kids are older so their book is divided into the various animal kingdoms, and each animal is put behind the proper tab. You can take this with you when you visit the zoo and take animal pictures to add to your pages or to create new pages.

Discuss various businesses and call ahead to arrange for field trips. My kids have visited the bank, post office, grocery store, feed store, vets office, doctors office. By asking for a tour, you get to see the "back rooms", have inventory and business practices explained to the kids on their level. Many businesses, such as banks and the post office also have free literature to give to kids.

Have the kids shop. This uses home-ec, finances, math skills. Give them each a list, money and have them look for coupons and the best deals.

Discuss nutrition and have the kids each plan a menu for a day or week or month (depending on their ages). Then, they can shop and cook or help cook what they picked. Menus must meet the food recommendations. Doubling or halving recipes is also a good way to learn fractions.

Build medical models. We have built several skeletons and various organs. Older kids can learn the names of the bones. Get

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>