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By: Barbara Ashcroft B.A.M.ED.
Wow, where did the summer go? School’s calling…time
to sharpen up your child’s mental tools.
Try a few challenging, but fun, educational
activities this month. With just one hour a day of incidental
reading, writing, discussion and math activities, your child
will refresh his basic skills and increase his general knowledge.
Learning is a lifelong ongoing process and is certainly not
limited to just the school setting. There are many ways to
keep your child’s mind active during the last days of
summer.
- Math websites offer basic skills
practice and an assortment of games.
- Crossword puzzle books or online word
puzzles sharpen vocabulary and assist with spelling.
- Short daily story writing or reporting
and editing on the computer will keep up their written expression
fluency and accuracy.
- Current events from daily newscasts
or newspapers offer great opportunities for a family discussion
of social issues and values. They also provide an opportunity
for incidental geography learning.
- Keep short stories or articles pertaining
to your child’s hobbies and interests on hand. This
will keep up her reading skills. Let her tell you what new
information she has discovered.
- Family outings and summer trips provide
occasions to learn about new surroundings and local history.
Encourage your child to become a keen observer and to ask
probing questions as you travel to new and different locations.
Traveling to new places can be one of the best learning
experiences for a child.
- Nature walks, museum and science centre
visits all stimulate inquiring minds. It’s the “Why”
questions that show interest and lead to further research.
- Post an interesting daily research question
on the fridge. Help your children sharpen their research
skills. They need help refining their key search words.
All of these activities can be done informally
and incidentally as your family goes about enjoying the final
days of summer. Learning is natural and can be fun when the
whole family gets involved.
When children know you are enthusiastic
about a topic, they will pick up that interest. Make lifelong
learning your family’s passion. Keep your children challenged,
curious, and motivated.
Some educational and fun sites for kids:
www.math.com
www.coolmath.com
www.kidzone.ws/math/index.htm
www.askforkids.com
www.cbc.ca/kids
http://school.discovery.com/students
www.funology.com
www.kidsclick.org
www.pbskids.org/findit/
www.sikids.com/
Permission for reprint of
this article is given with the inclusion of this statement:
Barb Ashcroft offers JOURNEY TO JOY SEMINARS and private
consultation for parents to assist them in raising
children of character and to support them in enriching their
family life.
Contact Barb at 905 814-6434 or barb@barbashcroft.com.
Check out her website http://www.barbashcroft.com.
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