Are you the caregiver of an early-elementary-aged student who has just begun summer break? Do you feel a sense of responsibility to expose your child to academic content over the summer to help them ‘get ahead’ and ward off ‘learning loss ’? Or perhaps during spring conferences, your child’s teacher mentioned that they are lacking some core literacy and number sense skills and suggested you pursue summer learning opportunities. Regardless of the exact circumstances, making the best decision for your child while also trying to preserve the ‘break’ part of their summer can feel daunting!
A quick Google search will likely direct you towards options with varying degrees of accessibility: summer school, expensive learning app subscriptions, or a tutor. For some families, these options may be a great fit! For others, the time commitment, cost, course rigor, and schedule may present barriers. First and foremost, I suggest discussing your concerns candidly with your child’s teacher. Having a full picture of what teachers are seeing in the classroom, the areas requiring additional support, and how severely this impacts your child on a day-to-day basis will help you decide on next steps.
As a teacher myself, I often suggest that families find playful ways to integrate basic literacy and math concepts into their daily routines. These can be done in isolation or in combination with more formal support discussed above. You can decide where these fit into your family’s schedule and tailor them to meet your needs. And great news… they are screen-free!
Literacy Games
Play these on car rides, during mealtimes, on walks, or as a wind-down activity before bedtime.
1) How Many Rhymes Can You Find?
Think of a word and take turns generating as many words that rhyme with that one word as you can. If reasonable, task your child with writing a list of all the rhyming words as you play. The next time you play with a new word, look back on your previous total and challenge yourselves to collaborate and beat that number.
2) What Words Start With…?
Pick a letter sound (this could be a letter your child’s teacher says they need to practice) and generate as many words as you can that start with that letter. If appropriate, have your child keep a written list. Make sure to say the letter’s name AND make the letter sound as you play.
3) I Spy Something that Starts with a…?
Look around the environment and choose an object that starts with a specific letter sound. If you are the spy, keep the object a secret. Then say, “I spy something that starts with a ___ sound.” Take turns being the searcher and the spy. Make sure you say both the letter’s name and the sound it makes.
4) Listing and Note Writing Routines
Look for natural, low-stakes opportunities throughout the day for your child to write. This could look like…adding a snack item they want to the grocery list on the refrigerator, keeping an ongoing birthday list and adding gift ideas throughout the year, or noting thoughts on sticky notes for later (a question they’d like to ask you when you are free, a chore they need to remember to do, etc.).
5) PDX Reading Specialist Games and Activities
PDX Reading Specialist is a wealth of information for caregivers and educators on literacy interventions. They offer robust toolkits for classroom teachers as well as some affordable games that can be played at home. Check with your child’s teacher to pinpoint games targeting specific skills: PDX Reading Specialist.
Number Sense
Great to embed in common household routines like cleaning the kitchen, organizing the playroom, and folding laundry.
1) Sorting and Categorizing Items
When you are cleaning, give your child a special sorting job. This could be putting silverware away, matching toys to their labeled bins, or pairing socks and shoes.
2) Keeping Track
Look for natural opportunities to have your child keep track of something. Play a board game together and ask your child to track everyone’s turns with tallies in a notepad, as they play basketball or another sport challenge them to track how many points they score, or as you read to them at night have them tally the number of pages you read.
3) Counting Coins
Start a family change jar and have your child be responsible for totaling additions to the jar every time you empty your pockets. Depending on their skills, you might put them in charge of counting pennies only, tracking larger coin amounts, or totaling dollars.
4) Board Games
Speaking of board games… these are great for building foundational number sense skills! Most early board games require children to identify colors and shapes, count spaces, and take turns. Portland is rich in board game stores, and many allow you to rent games or even try them out in-store. Some to check out include: Guardian Games, Mox Boarding House, Puddletown Games and Puzzles, and Red Castle Games.
Over these next few sunny months, choose what works for you from this list and leave the rest. Adding any of these games or routines, even once per week, is a great way to help your child practice skills in low-pressure, playful ways. Trust your stress barometer; if any of these begin to feel taxing or your child is resistant, it is okay to stop. The idea is to integrate practice that feels light, playful, connective, and brings you together this summer. You know your child best; trust your instincts. Happy playing!
