What are you doing for summer Learning?!
We sure hope your summer is off to a great start!
Here at the Little Shepherd Preschool we are in full on cleaning mode. We are organizing, Cleaning toys, rearranging furniture, and sprucing up the school for the coming year!
We want to help you as you spend time with your children this summer. Here are a few suggestions for expanding their learning and helping them to create fun summer memories for years to come!
1- Listen to some of their favorite books on CD in the car when on your road trips. This helps them get the visual and Auditory stimulation of a book and you can be enjoying that book together!
2- When you stop at that rest area, look for wildlife hiding on the edges, and work together to identify who and what lives there (of course – don’t get too close to nature!)
3- Visit the local library for many activities, art programs, and even group reading time! Go to the zoo and study a few particular animals. Read a book about them, take pictures of them and talk about them together. Talk about what you would do if you were that animal.
4- Find a local Sports Program that your children can take part in! Many offer summer sessions, and welcome new athletes. Being a part of a team is a great way to nurture self confidence and growth in your child.
5- Have some fun outside messy experiments planned – a great one is Oobleck – equal parts water and cornstarch make for messy wash away fun you can easily create outdoors!
6 – Have your child help you make a playlist of songs (utilize spotify for a free playlist maker) songs you can play outside or in the car that will keep them (and you happy and connected!)
7- Have your child help you sort laundry into colors or sizes. Let them have some choice about how it gets put in drawers. What works for you may be confusing for them. Allow them to independently pull out that bright pink shirt with white polka dots and green and blue striped shorts! They won’t dress like that forever!
8- Have them help you make a list of things you would like to accomplish this summer. Our children are happy with a dip in the pool, day at the beach, or a backyard cookout!
9 – Use time at the beach or pool to introduce letter and shape recognition. The rich vocabulary we use helps to grow our children’s vocabulary. Questions like “Do you see the ball?” are not the same as “Can you find the large Red Ball?”
10 – Unplug – everything works again if you do! Take the time to sit outside or inside and just be with your children. They really do learn a lot just from conversation with you!
Whatever you do with your children this summer – be sure that the memories you are creating will last a lifetime. Take photos, record videos, spend time, make a summer keepsake book and most of all remember 18 summers go by fast!