For some of you, summer break has already started. It’s time to soak up one of those 18 summers you get with your little ones. While the rest of you are scrambling to find teacher gifts in time for the end of the school year. I was setting out this week to work on a teacher’s gift guide, but realized I would better serve you by helping your little ones grow over the next few months. So instead, I present to you a summer learning guide.
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I am a firm believer that your brain is like your muscles, you need to exercise it to keep it healthy. Your kids have worked so hard all year to learn so many new things, it would be a shame not to reinforce what they’ve learned. Now, by no means am I suggesting you teach your kids all day long over the summer, but doing some kind of learning activities every day will significantly benefit them. As a seasoned homeschooler, I can attest first hand how hard it is to start back in the fall after a complete summer break.
Whether your little one will be starting kindergarten in the fall or will be finishing grade school, I will share my favorite summer learning resources we’ve used through the years. The ones I love the most, that have stuck, and are standing the test of time. There is something for every budget, and for the amount of time you have to set out to prepare activities.
Learning Resources
There is no better way for young children to learn than through play! And Learning Resources comes in with the win EVERY SINGLE TIME! My classroom shelves are packed with their games. The quality of their products are amazing. I am a die hard fan of everything they make. Not only do they have great games and activities for young ones, they also have fantastic resources for older children. And don’t get me started on their New Sprouts play food! There is no better product on the market. And their imaginative play sets for children are wonderful. Can you tell how passionate I am about them? LOL!
If your little one will be starting school this fall, they have so many great games to give them a head start. My favorites are literacy skill builder games like Kindergarten Writing, Alphabet Acorns, Alpha Pops, and ABC Cookies. As for math skill builders, Preschool Numbers, Counting Bear and Color Sorting Bowls, Mini Muffin Match Up, and Noodle Knockout are at the top of my list. These are all fun educational games that your little one can play for hours on end and learn so much!
Osmo
I don’t allow a huge amount of screen time in our house. Aside from doing school-related work on their tablets, during the week, they don’t get any other screen time. Weekends are another story lol. But this is screen time I am 100% comfortable with. Osmo is another company that’s all about learning through play. Building on core strengths like math, reading, and creativity. There’s no shortage of things you can do! Everything is so magical, interactive, and engaging. All of my children are obsessed with it, from the 3 to the 10 year old.
Osmo is a line of hands-on, digital, and tactile games you can purchase for either Fire Tablets or iPads. There are so many different starter kits for each. From there, you can purchase an assortment of add-on games. My children ask for more every Christmas. We purchases our first set, the Creativity Starter Set, about 5 years ago, and have been adding on since. That specific set works on drawing, listening, speed of drawing, visual thinking, problem-solving, physics, creative problem solving & fine motor skills.
When my husband found Osmo, I wasn’t sure about buying the kids a game for the tablet. We bought it as a Christmas gift, and when they tried it on Christmas morning, I was hooked. I couldn’t believe something could be so magical, engaging, and educational. The kids were learning without even knowing, to them it was all play. Each starter set comes with a base and the camera that you will need to operate.
Osmo Games
For younger children, I would definitely recommend the Little Genius Starter Kit. The set is fantastic for learning letter formation, and phonics with the ABCs game. This game has helped my 3-year-old to start recognizing letters. You can also create anything you want using Sticks & Rings and watch them come alive with Squiggle Magic. And also experiment with clothes & colors to make party outfits, then watch characters react with the Costume Party game.
For older kids, the Coding Starter Kit is a fantastic starter. With this set, there are 3 games you can play. Coding Awbie, where your child will use hands-on physical blocks and coding commands to control the character on a fun-filled adventure. Coding Jams, to learn coding’s creative side while developing an ear for rhythm, melody, and harmony by creating their own music. And Coding Duo, which is a more advanced side-by-side coding puzzle that you can play at your level, alone, or with a partner. Using teamwork & strategy to unlock new worlds.
Once you have a starter kit, you can purchase additional add-on games that do not come with the base or the camera. Some great summer learning ones I would recommend are the Pizza Co. to learn business and all about money. Genius Numbers to learn additions, subtraction, and multiplications. Genius Words to learn how to spell. There are so many other wonderful games to discover.
Evan-Moor Publisher
If you’re looking for something for your kids to practice their writing. Using workbooks is a fantastic way to reinforce all that they’ve learned this year. Next up on my summer learning favorites are Evan-Moor workbooks. We use these workbooks all year long as part of our homeschool curriculum.
Some of them would make fantastic quick summertime lessons. The Daily Paragraph Editing, Daily Science, and Daily Math are small, half to one-page lessons that take about 5 to 10 minutes to complete. There is no preparation on your part, just take out the workbooks and do the lessons.
They have so many resources for every subject. If your child has struggled with something throughout the year, you can focus on that, giving them extra confidence before heading into the new school year. If not they have great summer activity books that cover everything and prepare them for the fall. They have curriculums ranging from pre-K to grade 8.
Teachers Pay Teachers
Another one of my favorite places to find resources is a website called Teachers Pay Teachers. It is an online shop where you can find printables free of charge or at a very small cost. It’s actually where I started my homeschool journey. When my eldest was 3, I started downloading free printables for her to do. It’s definitely more work on your part, sifting through the thousands of resources and printing everything out. But wonderful nonetheless. Just make sure to always read the reviews, I’ve purchased some I didn’t love lol.
You can find something for every subject. If your child needs to work on something specific you can search by grade level and subject. My all-time favorite shop I’ve found on TPT is Math Tech Connections. She has the best morning work around called Spiral Review. If you are looking for a quick lesson, these include language arts and math on one page. You can either purchase a few weeks at a time or the whole year.
Reading Eggs
Last up on the list is Reading Eggs. Another no prep learning activity. This is a paid learning app for android and apple. You can either choose a monthly subscription or save with a yearly one. We’ve been using Reading Eggs for 5 years now, the kids love it. With one subscription, you can have up to 4 children with their own profiles. You get access to Reading Junior for kids ages 2-4. Reading Eggs, where your child can learn how to read. Fast Phonics are quick games. Reading Eggspress for older kids to work on reading comprehension. And Math Seeds for all ages.
My older son struggled more than my daughter with learning to read. Once I got him started on reading eggs, I quickly saw a huge difference. Every level has multiple exercises to unlock before they pass. Along with a quiz at the end. I would suggest getting your kids to do a complete an English and a Math lesson a day. Right now, if you sign up for the yearly subscription you also get access to their 10-week summer school. Which are lessons in both English and Math along with some printables to go along. You can always start with a 30-day free trial.
That concludes my favorite summer learning resources. You can head over to my Instagram page and find videos of all of these in action in my Learning Highlight Tab. Summer should be all about having fun and soaking up the sunshine, but finding a little time each day for some learning activities is a great way to maintain all of the new knowledge they learned this year. It always helps to have some sort of schedule to avoid total summer chaos. Hope you find some inspiration in some of these. Have a wonderful break! Thank you for stopping by today.
Elisa
