Avoid the Summer Slide Activities for Upper Elementary Students
Help Avoid the Summer Slide with these activities. Did you know summer time is one of the best opportunities for your kids to continue to grow and learn. Of course summer time is a great time for kids to relax, have fun and play a lot. However we want to avoid the summer slide and I will share some easy and fun summer activity ideas to keep your kids and students engaged and learning!
As a teacher mom I am always trying to stay on top of my kids learning and never want them to fall behind over these 100 days that they are home. I try to find free and easy resources for them to continue to stay ahead on the learning without even knowing it! Today, I will share my top ideas and activities to beat the summer slide.
Summer Activity Ideas Practice Activities
Over the years I have tutored my former students and created summer packets to help my students stay on top of their learning. I put together a packet of resources that are themed and engaging for kids to review and practice their learning. Teachers love using these because they are easy to print and send home with their students over the summer as an extra reinforcement for their students. Parents love them because they know their kids will continue to learn all summer long using these packets. They include: reading activities, book club practice, reading logs, writing prompts, and language review pages.
You can check out all the packets here:
Summer Activities: Visit Historic Attractions
Does your area have lots of historic attractions you can visit over the summer time? This is the best way for kids to learn about history, and make connections. Many schools no longer take field trips so for kids to see places they learn about makes a huge impact on their learning and engages their schema in school.
I love taking my kids on fun summer field trips over the summer. Many of the places offer days where you can visit for free. If you are in or around the Houston area some of my favorite attractions are: NASA, Galveston Moody Gardens, The Galleria, Sam Houston Monument, San Jacinto Monument, Battleship of Texas, The Zoo, Museums, Sports Stadiums. I usually schedule one day every other week to go on a special day trip. We even travel short distances to other cities to visit new places.
If you are traveling, this is an excellent way for kids to learn. We love doing summer road trips and my kids gather so many experiences from seeing new places! Nothing beats seeing new places and making memories!
Summer Activity Ideas: Visit the local library or book store.
Every summer we make it a tradition to go to the local book store and I have my kids pick out there favorite books to read over the summer. Also, visiting the library is awesome because you can switch out your books all summer long, and you can get a free library card for your kids. I love this method but sometimes the books I want aren’t always available. I also love ordering books on amazon, you can find them sometimes free to rent on amazon prime! These are some of my top summer picks that kids love reading or listening to! You can check out more in my shop HERE.
Summer Activity Ideas: Keep a Summer Kids Blog
Do your kids love writing? If your answer is yes or even no, you can try something new with your kids. You can create a free blog for your kids to journal about their summer adventures! It is amazing how much they will love doing this. They can take pics, and create a small snapshot of their summer fun. If they don’t think it is fun at first have them try out for 1-2 weeks. Then have them go back and read… they will be surprised how much they did! My kids did this last summer and they loved reviewing at the end of the summer. My boys decided to do again because it was a great memory keeper of their fun summer! The cool thing with Google Blogger is there are apps so they can do straight from their phones or tablets!
Summer Activities: Visit the Museum
The museum is the best way for kids to learn and stay in the cool A/C during the summer months! We love visiting all the local museums in our city. We get year passes because it allows us to visit throughout the summer for a lower rate. We have a Science, Health, Kids, and History Museum in our area. Also, check out their websites as many have half priced or free days. We love trying out the different programs that they all offer.
Summer Activities: Summer Church VBS or Summer Camp Programs
Summer VBS camp is typically free at many local churches. My own kids love attending these are they really put in a great effort into making them themed and engaging. I would volunteer and loved what our church offers. Here is a link to check out some ideas for what VBS Vacation Bible School is. There are many nonprofit camps for young kids. I also love checking out summer camps at local YMCA and other organizations. My kids attend several soccer camps through their school.
Summer Activities: Play Board Games
Who doesn’t love games? Did you know that many games that you can purchase are educational? Yes… I actually love playing games to teach my kids math skills, reading, inferring, and other higher level thinking skills. Here are a few of my top games we own that I believe really integrate learning and fun!
Summer time can truly be both fun and educational for your kids. I hope some of these ideas help in making your summer amazing!
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