By Carole Richards, President, Executive Director and Founder, North Coast Education Services
Often parents purchase workbooks to reinforce their child’s learning experiences. While I applaud any effort by parents to help their child, maybe there is another way.
My three-year-old granddaughter has endless skills to master. My wise daughter takes any opportunity to make her playtime a learning experience. This summer, try and think “outside the school box” and make learning fun.
Math
Money skills: Most kids love to play with money. Use pennies, nickels, dimes or dollars for counting and money sense. Teach your child to count by ones, fives or tens using coins. Help your child count the money for a fun trip to purchase something of their choice.
I send my granddaughter two, one-dollar bills every holiday. She saves them and shops for what she wants. The last time she selected a less expensive backpack because she realized she could get three things instead of two with this decision.
Time skills: If your child is always asking how long until. Using the timer on your phone; Set it for “five minutes until”. Once the five minutes time period is mastered, increase to ten then fifteen minutes. My children could wait two hours when they were quite young. They had conceptualized “how long”.
Math facts: Play a train game on the floor. Lay the fact cards out and your child picks up cards answered correctly. Or, they stand “x” feet away from you. Each time he or she answers correctly; take one step forward. Wrong answers, move back one. Make wrong answers ok saying “whoops” or “hurray, mistakes are ok."
I had a math fact club after school for kids struggling fourth graders. They played the “x” feet away game. It was fun, their classmates wanted to stay and play.
Fractions: Conceptualize fractions with measuring cups. Bake a favorite recipe. You hold the “one-cup” measuring cup; your child adds four “¼ cups” into your cup. Change it up to halves or thirds.
The “Pizza Pie Game” is a great way to understand fractions (Yes, it is a real game.) You can do the same with a real pizza. Make it more fun by letting them make their own pizza and “count the pieces to the whole." Cut it in fourths, thirds and fifths.
Reading
Read to your child: Parents often think the child must now do all the reading in 1st grade. If reading is difficult the child begins to hate reading. Select books that are above their reading level. Why not read a chapter book? My favorite children’s author is Beverly Cleary. She just turned 100 but her books are still relevant. Her Ramona character is always in trouble for one of her creative adventures. She is so funny, your child may not want you to quit reading.
Let your child pace in front of you if he or she can’t sit still. Ask simple questions, “Where is the character in the story?” “When do you think the story took place?” “How did the character feel?” Select just one question a reading so it doesn’t feel like school. Make your question and its answer a discussion.
Make-up funny stories: While you are in the car or cooking, make-up a funny story. Make your child the main character; let the child give the story an ending.
Rhyming, Language and Vocabulary: Read nursery rhymes to your child. One teacher used fairy tales in her middle school classrooms. She was the “roving reporter” and asked her class, “Why did the stepmother leave Hansel and Gretel in the woods?” Was it because she was protecting them, hated them, or some other cause?
Use music: John Denver songs like “Rocky Mountain High,” teach similes and metaphors.
Choral Reading: My group of remedial eighth graders taped “The Night Before Christmas” with sound effects. Yes, it was remedial reading but still fun.
I can’t begin to share the endless possibilities that make learning fun and productive. Your child needs specific skills. Think of real-life experiences you can use to help make learning fun this summer. Throw away those workbooks, the kids have seen plenty of them. Discover new and fun learning experiences. Happy learning!
