Summer is the time for fun in the outdoors. However, due to global warming, the heat may become unbearable during the summer. And thus, it is a good idea to stay indoors or under the shade in most parts of the day. If you have kids, allowing them to play in your yard or roaming around the beach may be limited as they have to follow the restrictions protecting themselves from the pandemic.
You can still make this summer a fun time for your kid. Make them learn an essential skill to have fun and be thankful for later on in life. You may also introduce them to the fun indoor activities that they can share with siblings and peers. With this, you need to make necessary house renovations such as installing a sun awning for the house that they can use while playing. Here is a list of skills that your kids can learn for a productive summer.
Enhance their vocabulary with fun word games.
Enrolling your child in a camp will be a brand new experience for him. In the center, they will expose themselves to activities that will boost their word power in a fun way. Some camps organise Word Hunts or Sidewalk Word Ladder games.
In the Word Hunt, participants will look for pieces of sticky notes containing a vocabulary word. Kids can find these pieces of paper in inconspicuous places in a forest, yard, or classroom. Some facilitators would further require kids to read these words aloud and use them in a sentence.
The Sidewalk Word Ladder requires kids to write a particular word in the space of a ladder. Initially, the kid will start filling out the bottom part of the ladder. They must write an entry per level as they go up. You may also require them to pronounce each word as they go along.
Improve arithmetic and maths skills playing the Giant Dice, Puddle Jumps, and decoding secret messages.
Don't let your kids' maths and arithmetic skills go to waste just because they are having a summer vacation. Even at home, you can reinforce these skills and make your kids remember how to do simple arithmetic operations. With some materials, you can set up fun games for them to enhance their mathematical intelligence.
Improvise and make giant dice from a square tissue box. Each number corresponds to an item or items. As your kid rolls the dice and picks a number, you will have to cross out specific items in the chosen number. You can make the process more challenging for older kids using other arithmetic operations, multiplying, subtracting, and dividing numbers.
In puddle jumps, you have to make paper cuts with corresponding numbers. Instruct your child to jump from one puddle to another and saying out loud the chosen numbers. You may want to make the game more fun and challenging by incorporating arithmetic operations in the game.
You can also make learning math more fun as your kid decodes secret messages. First, you have to decide the list of private messages attached to each number. Create math equations so that in the end, your child can decode the hidden message.
Enhance memory and reading skills with fun outdoor games.
Organise a fun giant outdoor game for your kid. Gather paper plates for this game. Each item will correspond to a number or word that the child must remember and match later on. You can choose among shapes, colours, names, or numbers you want your child to remember. Spread the plates face down and allow your child to find the corresponding match. You can set up another game at the end of the game and make your kids pick the paper plates in pairs.
Before summer officially arrives, you may want to plan and choose the appropriate activities for your kids. Ask around in your circle of friends which skills their kids are also learning so that your kids have somebody else familiar in the group. As for house remodeling, consider planning the renovation. House renovations for your kids may not be that full-blown. Installing a little shower stall in a shady portion of your yard or hanging their hand-painted decor on the wall may be enough to remind them how special they are.
You may also want to allocate one space in your house for the renovations. Temporarily keep your kid's everyday toys and make way for new toys that s/he will enjoy for summer. This new stuff will give them a brand new feeling and make their summer more enjoyable.
