Learning Made Fun
  • Blog
  • Teacher Resources
    • Math Mysteries >
      • GRADE 1 Math Mysteries
      • GRADE 2 Math Mysteries
      • GRADE 3 Math Mysteries
      • GRADE 4 Math Mysteries
      • GRADE 5 Math Mysteries
      • GRADE 6 Math Mysteries
      • GRADE 7 Math Mysteries
      • GRADE 8 Math Mysteries
    • Reading & Literacy Mysteries
    • Math Projects
    • Math Quests
    • Free Resources
  • Shop
  • Video Library
    • Math Mystery Video Hooks >
      • Case of the 100 Missing Treats
      • Case of The Abducted Alien
      • Case of The Alien Apocalypse
      • Case of The Angry Adder
      • Case of The Bee Bandits
      • Case of the Christmas Chaos
      • Case of the Cursed Classrooms
      • Case of The Disappearing Donuts
      • Case of The Divided Dragon's Division Review
      • Case of The Dream Snatcher
      • Case of The Egg Thief
      • Case of The Forgetful Pharaoh
      • Case of The Furious Falls Winds
      • Case of the Giant Goblin
      • Case of The Gobbler's Curse
      • Case of The Graduation Gremlins
      • Case of the Great Zoo Escape
      • Case of The Greedy Gnome
      • Case of the Halloween Heist
      • Case of the Heartbroken Heroes
      • Case of the Invisible Illusionist - Integers Math Mystery Activity
      • Case of the Jumpy Jack-O-Lanterns Halloween Math Mystery
      • Case of The Jungle Joker
      • Case of The Kidnapped Groundhog
      • Case of The Litterbug
      • Case of the Lost Leprechaun
      • Case of the Magnificent Growth Mindset
      • Case of The Mathattan Meltdown
      • Case of Mean Mountain
      • Case of The Millennium Bug
      • Case of the Mirror Madness
      • Case of The Misplaced Pot of Gold
      • Case of the Missing Campers
      • Case of the Missing Macaw
      • Case of The Monster Mix-Up
      • Case of the Never-Ending Rain
      • Case of the Outback Outlaw
      • Case of The Phantom Phoenix
      • Case of the Pickpocketing Pirate
      • Case of The Poisonous Pizzas
      • Case of The Puzzled Pirate
      • Case of The Robot Robbery
      • Case of The Rogue Runner
      • Case Of The Rotten Eggs
      • Case of The School Invaders
      • Case of The Selfish Elf
      • Case of The Shogun's Sword
      • Case of The Snowman Army
      • Case of The Sticky Bank Burglary
      • Case of The Super Bad Superhero
      • Case of the Thanksgiving Thief
      • Case of The Thankless Turkey
      • Case of The Time Traveling Troll
      • Case of The Tricking Treat
      • Case of The Valentine Villain
      • Case of The Vengeful Vampire
      • Case of The Zombie Elves
    • Junior Reading Mysteries >
      • Bo-Peep's Stolen Sheep
      • Broken Beanstalk
      • Miss Muffet's Missing Muffins
      • Mother Hubbard's Robbed Cupboard
      • Poisoned Porridge
      • Ruined Ruby Slippers
      • Spooky Singer
      • The Ever After Emerald
      • The Greedy Guest
    • Reading Mystery Video Hooks >
      • Burrow Slime
      • EGGpocalypse
      • Fool's Gold Read Mystery
      • Forest Grime - Reading Mystery
      • Haunting Hat - Reading Mystery
      • Humpty's Fall Reading Mystery
      • Knight's Tail
      • Poisoned Valentine
      • Rescue Rudolph
      • Stolen Time
      • Teacher Toads - Reading Mystery
      • Turkey Trouble!
      • Twinkle's Lost Shine
      • Which Witch? - Reading Mystery
      • Wizard Blizzard
    • Math Quest Video Hooks >
      • Escape Monster Mansion
      • Over The Rainbow Math Quest
      • Raiders of The Lost Egg
      • Redbeard's Rebellion
      • Reindeer Roundup
      • School Jungle Jam
      • The Heartless Queen
      • The Terrible Turkey Takeover
    • A-Z Letter Detectives Video Hook >
      • The Case of the Alien's Apples
      • The Case of the Banana Bandit
      • The Case of the Cat's Cookies
      • The Case of the Dragon's Diamonds
      • The Case of the Eagle's Eggs
      • The Case of the Frog's Flowers
      • The Case of the Ghost's Gumballs
      • The Case of the Hippo's Hat
      • The Case of the Iguana's Ice Cream
      • The Case of the Jaguar's Jellybeans
      • The Case of the Kangaroo's Kite
      • The Case of the Lion's Lollipops
      • The Case of the Monster's Map
      • The Case of the Ninja's Necklace
      • The Case of the Octopus's Oar
      • The Case of the Pirate's Pizza
      • The Case of the Queen's Quiver
      • The Case of the Robot's Rocket
      • The Case of the Sloth's Skateboard
      • The Case of the Turtle's Toys
      • The Case of the Unicorn's Umbrella
      • The Case of the Vampire's Violin
      • The Case of the Wizard's Wand
      • The Case of the X-Hero's X-Ray
      • The Case of the Yeti's Yo-Yo
      • The Case of the Zebra's Zucchinnis
    • Background Music >
      • Back to School Mystery Detective Music
      • Christmas Mystery Music
      • Easter Mystery Spy Background Music
      • Halloween Background Music
      • St Patrick's Day Background Music for the Classroom
      • Thanksgiving Mystery Background Music
      • Valentine's Day Mystery Spy Music
  • TPT
  • About
  • Privacy Policy

Fun Educational Activities to Prevent the Summer Slide

7/5/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Research over the years discovered that students lost a significant amount of what they learned over the summer school break According to thirteen recent studies the effect of summer break was most detrimental to math computation and spelling (Cooper et al.).

To help your child retain math and spelling skills, you can add some fun learning experiences at home or on vacation to help prevent the summer slide. In this post, I'll outline some ways you can sneak some math, reading, spelling, and comprehension skills to your daily routine without making it feel like a chore or a bore. 
It is important to look for opportunities where you can do math, reading, or spelling in your regular everyday tasks. Sneaking it in is ideal! However, if you find yourself struggling to come up with some ideas to keep learning fun and fresh during the holidays, below, I've listed some ideas and resource suggestions you may want to try with your kids. 

1. Board Games

Family game night can involve scorekeeping or games that require skills with math and spelling. To name a few, here are my top picks for board games that keep learning alive and fun. 
Hungry Hippos with a Math Twist
Picture
Number the balls and add up your scores! For more ideas with turning Hungry Hippos into a math game, read this post. 
Monopoly
Picture
Picture
Monopoly is a fantastic math game in itself. With computation being required and financial literacy throughout. 
Scrabble
Picture
Scrabble is another great addition to your game collection. With spelling, strategy, and point scoring, there is so much educational value in this traditional board game. 

2. Cooking

Cooking is such a useful way to show kids how math is applied to an everyday situation. Grab yourself a kids recipe book or some kid-friendly recipes off the Internet and get into the kitchen discussing measurements. I currently love Donna Hay's 'Basics to Brilliance Cookbook for Kids' because it also promotes healthy ways to cook our favorites. In the photo below, we were making her recipe for breakfast cookies. 
Picture

3. Play Shops or Go to the Grocery Store

Depending on the age of your kids, you could involve them to calculate total bills, unit prices, or change to be received when at the grocery store. If you need to make it simpler for young ones, simulating a 'play shop' at home is another option. 

You don't need too many fancy things to set up a home 'shop.' All you need is some play money (or real), some items from your pantry or toy stash, some paper pieces for tags to set prices and you're set to go. 

While not necessary, you can also invest in some nice shopping role-play toys and items. My kids and I are loving using the Melissa, and Doug Ice Cream and Pizza Shop play sets to practice our math with money. The pizza role-playing is also a fantastic way to introduce fractions in a real-life context. 
Picture
Picture

4. Math & Spelling Online Games & Apps

Make screen time meaningful with educational games and apps. I've made it a rule in my home that iPad game time must be a learning game. There are so many to choose from, free and paid. I've listed some of my favorite go-to websites and apps below. 
Vocabulary Spelling City
Picture
I loved using the Vocabulary Spelling City website in the classroom too.  You can customize spelling lists, then play games to practice spelling the words. With free and premium options, it's worth checking out. 
Spelling Fun
Picture
Spelling Fun provides interactive digital word searches, Hangman, crosswords, and lots of other spelling games.
Math Playground
Picture
Math Playground has so many colorful games in a variety of math skills! Some games are free to play, while others are included with a subscription. 
Cool Math Games
Picture
Cool Math Games provides loads of games for math and logical thinking. 

5. Use Gamified Worksheets to make Homework fun

There's no need to overwhelm your kid/s with boring regular worksheets during the summer break. However, by getting them to commit to a bit of practice before heading outside to play will do wonders for retaining computational, reading, and spelling skills. You can make worksheet practice fun by adding a mystery, project, or adventure twist with these resources. Break up each activity bit by bit over the summer weeks. Set goals or use motivation charts to increase the 'game' feel.  

Once Upon a Crime Reading Mysteries

Shop

Math Mysteries

Shop

Math Quests

Shop

Math Projects

Shop
The Math Projects will unleash the business side of your little ones as they see how math is applied in real-life situations. I recommend seeing what sort of business appeals to your kid first - a cafe, a magical bakery or a pet hotel? 

6. Create ScrapBooks Or Journals

If you are going on vacation or a field trip, take lots of photos and assign your kids a project to create a scrapbook. They will need to write sentences about their experiences and use the photos to help them tell the story of their adventure. Even if you don't go anywhere for the summer holidays, you could get kids writing by tasking them to create a scrapbook of activities they do daily.  

If you prefer not to take photos, assign your kids to do some journal writing. Put a timer on for a few minutes for writing time. 
Picture
Are there any type of activities you like to do with your kids to keep learning fun during the summer break? I'd love to hear them in the comments section of this post. 
Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

      Newsletter Sign Up

    Subscribe to Newsletter

    Categories

    All
    Addition
    Alphabet Activities & Ideas
    Anchor Charts
    Assessment
    Back To School
    Behavior Management
    Books
    Brain Breaks
    Character Development
    Christmas Activities And Resources
    Classroom Management
    Digital Escape Room Game
    Distance Learning
    Division
    Easter Activities
    End Of Year
    For Parents
    Fractions
    Fun Lessons
    Fun Mystery Games And Activities
    GIVEAWAYS
    Google Classroom
    Halloween
    Icebreakers
    Inclusive Classrooms
    Keep Minds Active
    Math Activities
    Math Centers
    Math Games
    Math Mysteries
    Math Posters
    Math Tricks
    Math Videos
    More Teacher Stuff
    Mystery Logic Puzzles
    Mystery Prompts
    Patterns
    Place Value
    Positive Classroom
    Posters
    Preschool Activities
    Puzzles
    Reading Activities
    Reading Mysteries
    Student Motvation
    Teacher Wellbeing
    Teaching Ideas
    Teaching Strategies
    Technical Help
    TPT Products Free & Paid
    Writing Activities

    Picture
    CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A FREE MATH MYSTERY!

    Author

    A 21st century School Teacher, Mother, and Wife.

    Follow Mrs J!
    Picture
    CLICK HERE FOR MORE MATH MYSTERIES

    This website uses marketing and tracking technologies. Opting out of this will opt you out of all cookies, except for those needed to run the website. Note that some products may not work as well without tracking cookies.

    Opt Out of Cookies
TPT Store: Mrs J's Resource Creations
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Blog
  • Teacher Resources
    • Math Mysteries >
      • GRADE 1 Math Mysteries
      • GRADE 2 Math Mysteries
      • GRADE 3 Math Mysteries
      • GRADE 4 Math Mysteries
      • GRADE 5 Math Mysteries
      • GRADE 6 Math Mysteries
      • GRADE 7 Math Mysteries
      • GRADE 8 Math Mysteries
    • Reading & Literacy Mysteries
    • Math Projects
    • Math Quests
    • Free Resources
  • Shop
  • Video Library
    • Math Mystery Video Hooks >
      • Case of the 100 Missing Treats
      • Case of The Abducted Alien
      • Case of The Alien Apocalypse
      • Case of The Angry Adder
      • Case of The Bee Bandits
      • Case of the Christmas Chaos
      • Case of the Cursed Classrooms
      • Case of The Disappearing Donuts
      • Case of The Divided Dragon's Division Review
      • Case of The Dream Snatcher
      • Case of The Egg Thief
      • Case of The Forgetful Pharaoh
      • Case of The Furious Falls Winds
      • Case of the Giant Goblin
      • Case of The Gobbler's Curse
      • Case of The Graduation Gremlins
      • Case of the Great Zoo Escape
      • Case of The Greedy Gnome
      • Case of the Halloween Heist
      • Case of the Heartbroken Heroes
      • Case of the Invisible Illusionist - Integers Math Mystery Activity
      • Case of the Jumpy Jack-O-Lanterns Halloween Math Mystery
      • Case of The Jungle Joker
      • Case of The Kidnapped Groundhog
      • Case of The Litterbug
      • Case of the Lost Leprechaun
      • Case of the Magnificent Growth Mindset
      • Case of The Mathattan Meltdown
      • Case of Mean Mountain
      • Case of The Millennium Bug
      • Case of the Mirror Madness
      • Case of The Misplaced Pot of Gold
      • Case of the Missing Campers
      • Case of the Missing Macaw
      • Case of The Monster Mix-Up
      • Case of the Never-Ending Rain
      • Case of the Outback Outlaw
      • Case of The Phantom Phoenix
      • Case of the Pickpocketing Pirate
      • Case of The Poisonous Pizzas
      • Case of The Puzzled Pirate
      • Case of The Robot Robbery
      • Case of The Rogue Runner
      • Case Of The Rotten Eggs
      • Case of The School Invaders
      • Case of The Selfish Elf
      • Case of The Shogun's Sword
      • Case of The Snowman Army
      • Case of The Sticky Bank Burglary
      • Case of The Super Bad Superhero
      • Case of the Thanksgiving Thief
      • Case of The Thankless Turkey
      • Case of The Time Traveling Troll
      • Case of The Tricking Treat
      • Case of The Valentine Villain
      • Case of The Vengeful Vampire
      • Case of The Zombie Elves
    • Junior Reading Mysteries >
      • Bo-Peep's Stolen Sheep
      • Broken Beanstalk
      • Miss Muffet's Missing Muffins
      • Mother Hubbard's Robbed Cupboard
      • Poisoned Porridge
      • Ruined Ruby Slippers
      • Spooky Singer
      • The Ever After Emerald
      • The Greedy Guest
    • Reading Mystery Video Hooks >
      • Burrow Slime
      • EGGpocalypse
      • Fool's Gold Read Mystery
      • Forest Grime - Reading Mystery
      • Haunting Hat - Reading Mystery
      • Humpty's Fall Reading Mystery
      • Knight's Tail
      • Poisoned Valentine
      • Rescue Rudolph
      • Stolen Time
      • Teacher Toads - Reading Mystery
      • Turkey Trouble!
      • Twinkle's Lost Shine
      • Which Witch? - Reading Mystery
      • Wizard Blizzard
    • Math Quest Video Hooks >
      • Escape Monster Mansion
      • Over The Rainbow Math Quest
      • Raiders of The Lost Egg
      • Redbeard's Rebellion
      • Reindeer Roundup
      • School Jungle Jam
      • The Heartless Queen
      • The Terrible Turkey Takeover
    • A-Z Letter Detectives Video Hook >
      • The Case of the Alien's Apples
      • The Case of the Banana Bandit
      • The Case of the Cat's Cookies
      • The Case of the Dragon's Diamonds
      • The Case of the Eagle's Eggs
      • The Case of the Frog's Flowers
      • The Case of the Ghost's Gumballs
      • The Case of the Hippo's Hat
      • The Case of the Iguana's Ice Cream
      • The Case of the Jaguar's Jellybeans
      • The Case of the Kangaroo's Kite
      • The Case of the Lion's Lollipops
      • The Case of the Monster's Map
      • The Case of the Ninja's Necklace
      • The Case of the Octopus's Oar
      • The Case of the Pirate's Pizza
      • The Case of the Queen's Quiver
      • The Case of the Robot's Rocket
      • The Case of the Sloth's Skateboard
      • The Case of the Turtle's Toys
      • The Case of the Unicorn's Umbrella
      • The Case of the Vampire's Violin
      • The Case of the Wizard's Wand
      • The Case of the X-Hero's X-Ray
      • The Case of the Yeti's Yo-Yo
      • The Case of the Zebra's Zucchinnis
    • Background Music >
      • Back to School Mystery Detective Music
      • Christmas Mystery Music
      • Easter Mystery Spy Background Music
      • Halloween Background Music
      • St Patrick's Day Background Music for the Classroom
      • Thanksgiving Mystery Background Music
      • Valentine's Day Mystery Spy Music
  • TPT
  • About
  • Privacy Policy