I'm participating in a fun Summer Blog Hop today organized by Mrs. Wyatt's Wise Owl Teacher Creations! I'm sharing some ideas on how to prevent the "summer slide" and keep your preschoolers prepared for kindergarten! Here's how I'm keeping my own preschooler engaged and excited about new learning opportunities this summer...I know that he's going to be ready to dive into kindergarten in September!
1. READING: The library is our favorite place in the summer! We've signed up the Summer Reading Program and my little one crosses out the days on his calendar whenever he takes time out to READ. We bring the calendar back once a week and he submits it for fun prizes, stamps, and stickers. Check out your local library for summer programs! We've also attended lots of fun programs, most recently my kids have the opportunity to see a Reptile Show and participate in a Science Workshop. Library programs are generally free, you may just need to register in advance.
2. FAMILY FIELD TRIPS: Summer is a really relaxed time for my family, my husband is a teacher too, so we get to spend lots of time together. We've planned lots of places to visit...my advice is to make a plan by writing your ideas down on a calendar. Pack a bag or lunches the night before and when you wake up in the morning, you can just GO! Check out local state parks, zoos, aquariums, museums, pools, and hiking trails (you may even be able to find some teacher discounts on membership and admission). Even a playground that you've never been to before can be exciting. Is there a Regal Theatre in your area? Morning movies are only $1.00 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the summer!
3. SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS: My kids love science experiments! We find ideas online and in books, most just require a few basic ingredients. Take the time to read the directions together, gather the materials and read labels, make predictions, and write about what happened. Here's a volcano set that we recently picked up...it was a fun project that took a couple of days and sparked a lot of conversation!
4. APPS: Like any preschool teacher, I don't believe that children should spend too much time on tablets, computers, and watching tv. But, after a busy morning, my kids definitely need some quiet time (and I do, too!). Here's one of my favorites, Sight Word Ninja. The sight words are read aloud one at a time, and repeated until my son swipes the correct one. He loves this game and is doing a great job of retaining the sight words that he learned in Pre-K! And it's FREE!
5. KINDERGARTEN READINESS PACKET: Little fingers that don't write, paint, color, and play over the summer might not be ready for kindergarten in the fall! I created this packet to send home with my students and use with my own son this summer. He doesn't want to spend lots of time at the table "working", so the activities are quick, simple, and fun! Providing him with a variety of writing materials is a great motivator, too. We have buckets of crayons, pencils, markers, stamps, and stickers to use while my son is working on his Kindergarten Readiness Packet.
Here's a fun freebie to prepare your preschooler for Kindergarten circle time, my super simple weather chart! Print and laminate to post in your home or classroom as an easy way to track the weather each day!
What are you doing this summer to avoid the slide? Keep hopping for some great ideas, click on the picture to visit Chalkboard Creations. Thanks again to Mrs. Wyatt's Wise Owl Teacher Creations for hosting this hop!
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