For young children, learning should not stop simply because it is the summer holidays. It is important to keep your child interested in studying even when the school year is over to keep them engaged and motivated.
There are ways you can keep your child entertained while they learn based on their interests. Whether your kid loves exploring the riverbank or looking for dinosaur bones there are many fun summer learning activities you can try together. With that being said, we have listed creative projects you and your child will love!
1. Hiking Through Nature
To keep your children active you should do plenty of fun exercises. The best way to get your kids to exercise is to go hiking through nature reserves. Find local parks or mountains to go hiking through. With this activity you can teach your children:
- About rock formations
- What plants are dangerous
- How to use a compass
- About animals
- How to measure distance and terrain on a map
Additionally, you should also teach your children about the importance of protecting their skin when they go hiking. Ensure they always wear hats and sunblock when they’re walking long distances outside.
2. Video Making
Video making can either be for a summer activity or to develop a new skill. When you do family activities, allow your children to take videos. Then teach them how to use video editing software to create clips with effects, music, and filters.
Teaching your children to create videos and how to use video editing software can help with school project ideas. They can take videos of nature, or how they’ve created something to present their projects in class.
The advantage is your child will learn an important skill that could help with future occupations such as filmmaking or editing. What is more, you can get free video editing software that is user-friendly and easy for a child to learn with little help from parents or guardians.
3. Reading The Classics
To help build your child’s vocabulary and improve their reading skills, you should give them books that are slightly above their reading average. Classic children’s books are an excellent way to teach your kid how authors write and how language has changed over the years.
Alice in Wonderland is an ideal book to start with especially if your child loves adventure stories. Charlie and The Chocolate Factory is also a fun way to teach children to read longer books. Here is a list of other classic books that have a lesson at the end of each story:
- The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
- Charlotte’s Web – E.B. White
- Oh, The Places You’ll Go – Dr Seuss
- Harold and the Purple Crayon – Crockett Johnson
- Matilda – Roald Dahl
- Madeline – Ludwig Bemelmans
If you have pre-kindergarten children then try books such as Curious George Goes to the Beach by H.A. Re or Hot Day on Abbott Avenue by Karen English. These books are also ideal for homeschooled children.
4. Summer Sports Activities
It is not healthy for children to be cooped up at home all day. Lounging around can cause children to become lazy and lethargic. Summer sports allow children to play outside and get the exercise they need to stay active. It also gets them interested in sports which could motivate them to play at school.
What is more, summer sports also prepare your kid for the first day of school. They will have the confidence and the energy to start their school year on a positive note.
Water sports are a fun way to teach your child how to swim. Other water sports include kayaking, surfing, and sailing. Baseball is also a fun summer sport and teach hand-eye coordination. Find a sport your child loves, so you can play together.
5. Camping In The Wilderness
Camping is one of the best learning activities for children. You can teach your kids how to build fires, find clean water, and build tents. If there is a lake nearby you can take your children fishing and teach them how to make bate and how to cast a line.
At night, you and your child can do star gazing, and you can talk about constellations and how people used stars to navigate when they did not have maps. There are myriads of kids’ creativity projects you can do in the wilderness such as flower pressing or even making smores.
6. Board Game Night With The Family
Having a family night is the best way to bond with your children and spouse. To make it fun, have a board game night that can teach your kids various skills. For example, Monopoly teaches kids how to manage their finances or important life skills.
You can include general knowledge games such as 30 Seconds or ones suitable for children such as Beat the Parents.
7. Create A Treasure Map
Another way to cultivate creativity in your child is by teaching them how to create a treasure map. This teaches them how to map out their environment from a bird’s eye view. It will also teach your children how to read a map and add elements to the paper to make it easier to navigate.
Ask your child to hide an item around the house or in the yard and then teach them how to create a map to help you find the item. This will develop their problem-solving skills. Creating maps and treasure hunts is also a fun school project to teach students.
Final Thoughts
As you can see there are many summer activities you can teach your children to keep them interested in studying. Using these activities you can also inspire your kid to become interested in sports or video making.
You can teach your child to be more creative, how to solve problems, and build their vocabulary so that learning in school does not become difficult. Use the tips mentioned in this post to teach your child new skills.
