A family vacation, a baseball game, a trip to the mall. Any of these activities can become the basis for learning experiences for your kids this summer.
Baseball is a game based on numbers and statistics. Children can keep track of their favorite player and team statistics such as batting averages, earned run averages, and runs batted it. Talk about comparisons of data between players and teams. Explain how this data is calculated. You’ll use addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Find an age-appropriate book about baseball or another sport for your child to read.
A family vacation can be used to teach children about geography, history, and culture. Ask your child to find out about the places you’ll visit before taking the trip by doing research on the Internet. During your trip, collect brochures for your child to read and to stimulate discussion after you are home.
A road trip is a great opportunity to do some math. Have your child help you estimate the cost of the trip by calculating the cost of gas and adding hotel, food and admissions fees.
Children who have allowances or regular spending money can learn to budget. Before a trip to the mall, ask your child to create a simple, two-column balance sheet listing “expenses” – the costs for anything your child plans to buy, compared to income – the money received as an allowance or in earnings from household or other jobs. Talk about the importance of keeping expenses lower than income, and about the value of allocating some money for savings.
· Look for other opportunities to stir curiosity and love of learning. Find out what kinds of summer activities are being offered by the local library.
· And most important—read, read, and read!