Summer Brain Drain

It's the middle of summer, the weather isn't too hot (which means that playing outside is actually a possibility, not something we only get to do after 8:30 p.m.), there are lots of fireworks to enjoy, and we're looking forward to taking the training wheels off my daughter's bike. Summertime at its best.

But before summer ended, I started thinking of ways to make sure my kids aren't going to become victims of "summer brain drain," where they forget everything they've learned the previous year. I didn't go crazy--the flash cards have been put away for a few months--but I did try a few things that I think are working.

• First, we go to the library at least every two weeks so that the kids can pick up books. They both joined the Independent Reading Club at one of the libraries and are reading so that they can earn "book bucks" for prizes. (Hands off if you see the Pokemon prize at the Beaver Library! That's mine! lol!) My son joined Battle of the Books at the library too, where kids read books in June and July and are questioned using a quiz show format in August, along with other kids from around the County. It's great for reading comprehension.

• I asked my son to take on some additional duties during the summer, including supervising his sister while she reads to him. She reads to him several times a week, just for 15 minutes, so she's getting some reading practice and he's learning to be within 8 inches of her without tormenting her. It's a win-win. When she reads the same books to me later, I'm amazed by how much she's improved.

• They both write in their "journals," which are just notebooks. Sometimes I'll tell them what to write about, if we did something fun the day before, but most of the time I just say to write about whatever they like. My son, of course, writes about Pokemon. He learned cursive this year, so I thought that journal writing would be good practice. Plus, I told him that I expect him to write sentences with a subject, verb, and proper punctuation. My daughter, well, her handwriting is, uh, developing, so it's a way for her to practice her letters and spell some easy words. 

I'm off to show my daughter how to tie her shoes. That's my summer project. If anyone has any ideas on how to make that easier, let me know! I was pulling my hair out when I taught my son. 
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Giveaway winners:

Fiddler on the Roof--Christina K.