Summer is no time to take a vacation from learning
Summer is no time to take
a vacation from learning
By MARK KRAMER Pasadena ISD Staff
Summer is in full swing. Students everywhere are splashing around in the pool, going on vacations and spending a relaxing time with friends. However, there is a concern among many parents - continuing the learning process outside of school.
Fear not, says Ricki Fischer, an instructional specialist in Pasadena ISD's curriculum department.
"I have learned that there are many ways to show kids that what they learn in school can be applied to many things in the real world," she said.
For example, parents can practice reading and writing skills with their child when planning a trip to the grocery store. The child can make out the grocery list by either writing it or dictating it to the parent. He or she can help clip coupons and discuss the difference between advertisements as well as the difference between a want and a need.
Reading charts and graphs is an important skill. Look for charts in the newspaper and magazines to discuss. Guide your child to look at the title of the graph, the labels and number scales. Parents should ask questions that deal with interpretation of the information.
In addition, parents can help develop their child's graphing skills by making a weather graph. This activity involves a child writing down or drawing a picture of the weather every day. Parents should have their child then count the number of sunny, cloudy and rainy days and ask them various questions regarding the weather.
Another suggestion for continuing learning during the summer can be found in the local library. Help you child check out books that are easy enough to read that the reader can build confidence and fluency, two elements essential to comprehension.
"A variety of parent-guided learning activities can create some summer fun and make your child's transition from kindergarten to first grade easier," said Angela Kennedy, elementary instructional specialist. "Especially if they are about to enter first grade."
Kennedy said making sure children know all of their letters and sounds is one of the skills that must be mastered by first grade.
"By the end of kindergarten, all children should know all of the letters and sounds," she said. "However, if they are still having difficulty, it is important for parents to work on those skills with their child over the summer."
Parents can help their child blend sounds of simple phonetic words to read. The parents can ask their child to tell them each sounds of a simple printed word and to blend those sounds to read the word. For example, a parent would read the word "dog" and ask the child to say the sounds, "d-o-g" and then blend the sounds together to read the word "dog."
To that end, Kennedy said reading is one of the most vital skills to practice with your child during the summer - or any time.
"The best thing that you can do for your child is to read to them every day for 10 to 15 minutes," she said. "Listening to you read serves as a model for your child's reading skills."
Kennedy also suggested taking your child to the library and give him or her a library card. "Let your child have ownership over that library card," she said. "It will give he or she a feeling of pride and fuel their interest in books. Also let your child attend storytime at the library. Most area libraries have storytime a couple of times a week."
Kennedy said math skills also are important to practice during the summer months. "You can do activities such as letting your child sort common household objects by color, shape and size," she said. "To practice counting, you can have your child count objects such as buttons, beans or paper clips."
"There are so many activities you can do with your child during the summer to help them before they begin first grade," she said. "It is easy to incorporate fun academic activities into summer playtime to help your child begin first grade with confidence."