Fun Summer Activities to Keep Your Kiddos School Ready!

Wow!  The summer is half way over and soon your kiddos will be out there buying new school supplies and clothes, readying themselves for the new school year.  But here's what I was wondering: Have you kept your children's minds active during these summer months with educational activities? Whenever I taught school, I encouraged parents to do something educationally sound every day during the summer that would keep their child's mind sharp during the summer months.  I know what you're thinking:  "Ugh...can't I just give them a few month off from school work?"  And, "They will hate doing school related work during the summer and I just don't want to fight it."  I hear you loud and clear!  However, it's a fact that when school starts back each fall, a teacher spends the first six weeks reviewing and getting kids back to where they were before school let out for the summer.  I also hear you whenever you say your kids would hate sitting down at the table doing "school work" during the summer.  That's why I have teamed up with Education.com to give you just one of  many fun projects they have to not only keep kids up to date with their school work during the summer but to also something fun!

Summer Words

The weather may not always be warm and toasty during the summer season, but that doesn't mean your child can't bask in the light of a cheery yellow sun all summer long. Make vocabulary practice a little brighter with this summer words puzzle!

Grade: Second Grade
Summer Reading

What You Need:

• Styrofoam circle
• Scissors
• Yellow paint
• Black marker
• Summer vocabulary list
• Paint brush
• White poster board
• Place mat
• Knife

What You Do:

1. Put the place mat beneath the Styrofoam circle.
2. Have your child paint the top and sides of the Styrofoam circle yellow.
3. Set it aside to dry.
4. Turn the Styrofoam circle over and let him paint that side yellow as well.
5. Set it aside to dry again.
6. This step is all you. Carefully make a shallow cut along the center side of the Styrofoam circle.
7. Don't let him put away the paint just yet! Have your child paint the poster board yellow.
8. Let him use scissors to cut triangles from the poster board. He should make at least thirty yellow triangles.
9. Have your child write one word from his summer vocabulary list on about half of the yellow triangles.
10. Without him peeking, write random vocabulary words on the rest of the triangles. These words should have nothing to do with summer.
11. Put all the triangles on the table.
12. Let him stick only the summer words into the side of the Styrofoam circle.
13. As he places each "sunbeam" into the circle, quiz him on the word's definition

I hope that your child enjoys that activity and that you will choose some other fun activities from the site to keep your child on track for the coming school year!