Summer break is barreling towards us, which means it’s almost time to find new and exciting ways to keep the kids busy during the summer months. Although there will be lots of time for your kids to enjoy playing, you may want to consider working on some school work over the break. In fact, most students lose at least two months’ worth of their education during the summer break, especially when it comes to math and reading. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to spend a small fortune on private tutors or summer programs though. There’s actually a lot of frugal ways you can keep your child’s mind working while they enjoy taking a break from the classroom.
1. Reading Program
It doesn’t matter where you are, if you have a local library then there’s a great chance that you will be able to sign your kids up for the summer reading program. The main objective of the reading program is to get your kids to read, even when it isn’t required of them. The library often offers prizes for your child’s hard work and they set up goals to help kids work to achieve something special. These programs cater to very young children all the way up until their teen years. Of course, the reading portion isn’t the only thing the reading program encompasses. You may also find that they will offer a wide variety of courses for the kids. Arts and crafts is usually one of the more popular choices, especially for younger children. However, they do offer some science and history based classes too for older children. Other than that, you should be able to take your child to story time, as well as movie screenings to keep them busy.
2. Cooking Lessons
Feeding kids an extra meal a day probably won’t be the best on your budget, but you could use all of the extra meal prep to teach your kids a few lessons. Obviously, you can design each task based around the child’s age and maturity level, but there should be a little something for everyone to do in the kitchen. You may want to try to look up new recipes for everyone to try together too. However, if you’re looking to keep it cheap then try foods like biscuit pizzas, quesadillas, salads and soups. Kids will take a lot from cooking classes with a parent though. It will help them build independence as well as necessary survival skills. Plus, it will also help them learn about nutrition, which will take them far in life. Last but not least, they will also work on their math skills in the process, which will make their next teacher happy.
3. Music Lessons
One fine way to help children increase their brain power in the summer is to have them pick up an instrument. There are so many advantages that kids who play music have that it doesn’t make sense to not encourage your child to grab an instrument and play. In fact, most children who play an instrument excel in mathematics in comparison to those who do not. Instruments also open up new worlds for self-expression, which are certain to make your child feel happier and less stressed out. Of course, you may be thinking that staring your child out on an instrument can cost a small fortune. You don’t have to go out and buy an instrument brand new. In fact, ask family if they have one they’d like to gift, or shop in thrift stores, pawn shops and yard sales. Before you know it, you’ll find something that will suit your needs. Lessons don’t have to cost a lot of money either. In this day and age, you can easily fire up your computer or tablet and find a wide assortment of lessons to suit every skill level for next to nothing. Without a doubt, you’ll feel thankful that you implemented music lessons during the long break, especially when you see your child’s grades improving in the fall.
4. Gardening
Another great way to help your child learn is to start up a family garden, or simply maintain the one you already have. Gardening is a great way to teach children the basics of science, especially biology. You may even have them keep a science journal to discuss how plants are made. The best thing about gardening is it is also an easy way to teach about nutrition. It’s also been scientifically proven that many children who grow their own food are more likely to try it, which made be good for all of those parents who have to sneak in vegetables every now and then. With your own garden, your homemade food will be healthier too, which is sure to make everyone happy. Plus, you’ll be able to rest assured that your children will know some basic survival skills that can help them get by if they’re ever in need of them.
5. Woodworking
Allowing children to channel their creative side using wood is another great way to keep those noggins working throughout the summer months. Of course, this is another lesson that will certainly be determined by the age and maturity of the child. Younger kids may have fun gluing pieces of wood together to make items like picture frames, miniature log cabins or a creation that is all their own. You could also work with your child to create a birdhouse using basic tools. Older children may be able to handle making their own birdhouse, including the process of cutting out the pieces. It may even be fun to work on a larger project like a playhouse or treehouse. Your projects will have to depend on your tools though and should be challenging and fun enough to keep your child busy for at least an hour a day. When summer is over, you may have some pretty awesome crafts to show off in the home. The reason why woodworking is so important though is it helps your child work on concentration skills as well as mathematical and critical thinking skills, which will all be necessary when school begins again.
6. Keep a Journal
As long as your child is old enough to write sentences, this summer project should suit your needs. Keeping a journal is a great way for children to find new ways to blow off some steam and allows them to get to know themselves a bit better. You can easily assign topics for your child to write about, or you could let them write about whatever they feel like it. Doing this will help make their writing skills shine as they will quickly learn how to put their thoughts on paper. This will come in handy when they begin to work on essays as they advance in school. Another great thing about having your child keep a journal is it will help them work on their penmanship. Penmanship is certainly one thing that goes downhill over the summer break, so your child’s next teacher will thank you. Apart from that, journaling is a healthy hobby that is scientifically proven to ease stress and keep your brain healthier.
7. Field Trips
Since you won’t have to put up with after school activities and most other time constraints, you may want to spend some time taking your kids to check out a few of the resources in your area. For instance, the zoo or aquarium is one of the more common places to go to during the summer months. If you can, try to make sure the kids learn a bit about the animals and their habitats while they’re there. Science museums are a perfect place for kids of all ages and will allow them to learn while enjoying some hands on activities. Of course historical and art museums are also important, but you may not have as much luck getting younger children to enjoy these environments. Recreational field trips are also important too, especially when it comes to new ways to exercise or places that allow you to get closer to Mother Nature. In order to save money, try to look for freebie days in order to help you save big time. Some places may also offer summer programs, which should cut down on the price tag too.
8. Learn a Language
You may want to take your child’s break from school as a time to study up on a new language. Even if you’re not bilingual, the whole family can work together to pick up a new language. There’s a lot of apps available to help you learn slowly, which should come in handy while teaching. Of course, setting up que cards, quizzing with flashcards and playing games with the new vocabulary will also inspire your child to learn. If you can, you may want to purchase some software or videos to help you out too. Teaching children a new language is a great way to open up their mind, which will help them in many subjects in school.
9. Look Ahead
It’s important to make sure your child practices the things that they learned throughout the year, but you may also want to start thinking about next year too. Before school is over, you may want to talk to some of the teachers in your child’s upcoming grade to see if they can offer you a syllabus or steer you in the right direction as to what your student will be working on the upcoming school year. If you can’t get information from one of the teachers, then it may be wise to look online. Usually, you can find a general idea of what students in your child’s grade will be learning, so you can start from there. If you look online, there should be plenty of worksheets to get you started on your task. Working on future tasks will help keep your child’s mind stay active while allowing them to ease back into school.
10. Apps
Before you spend a small fortune on worksheets, textbooks and other school supplies, you may want to check and see what you can use from your app store. There’s actually a lot of educational apps on the market right now and many of them won’t actually cost you a dime. You can find apps ranging from pre-school topics to the highest levels of high school. These will even come in handy as your student preps for college exams that will change their lives forever. You may even want to give your child a taste of college life by allowing them to take a couple of free source college courses over the summer break. With the apps on your side, your job as a summer tutor will be so much easier and cheaper.
Summer time is designed to help your kids relax after a long school year. However, you may not want them to relax completely. These ten tips will help you find a few new ways to help your student keep their brain active while saving you a whole bunch of money. Now, you won’t have to fear summer break or the hard work that keeping your student educated entails.
