Avoid the Summer Brain Drain

from Shine Newsletter, Summer 2007

Learning can take place beyond the four walls of the classroom. Here’s how to keep your child’s brain humming when school’s not in session.

“The best way you can keep your kids interested in learning is to look for new and engaging ways to involve them in activities,” said Meredith Puls, MEd, manager of learning services at The Children’s Hospital. “The more interactive you are with your children, the better the results will be.”

Take time this summer to help your child explore his or her own interests in these new and exciting ways:

• Create enriching experiences. Teach your child about other cultures by dining at ethnic restaurants or seeing foreign movies. After you’re done, research the culture you experienced. Help your child prepare a “theme night” complete with meal and costumes.
• Let her be the guide. If you’re going on a family vacation, have your child map the route and research things to do in the area.
• Build on your child’s passions. If your son likes nature, visit a naturalist at a local nature center or zoo or go on hikes through the woods. Use this time to build on his nature and science vocabulary by identifying the leaves and then creating a leaf scrapbook. Have him collect leaves, lay each flat in the scrapbook and place a piece of paper on top of them. Trace and shade in the leaves using crayons.
• Take her on a trip in her imagination. Visit the library or bookstore and develop a summer reading list with various milestones (number of books read, variety of fiction or nonfiction) and prizes for each. Then talk about the books she liked.
• Teach through real-life examples. Day-to-day, real-life activities are full of opportunities to make learning fun. Do you want to teach your kids about nutrition? Let them help plan your weekly menu. Do they need to know about counting money? Take them shopping with you and let them count out what
  is owed.
• Let them learn their own way. Children learn in different ways: Some learn by reviewing information repeatedly, others do an activity until they get it right, and then there are those who learn more by listening to an explanation. This summer, observe the learning techniques that work with your child so you can apply them when school resumes this fall.

For more great ideas on keeping your children’s minds active to prevent boredom this summer, visit The Children's Hospital's Road Trip Boredom Busters.