Fun Ways to Keep Kids Learning All Summer Long

When you’re a kid, summer is all about fun in the sun — but there’s no reason it can’t also incorporate learning, too. There are countless ways parents can integrate education into their kids’ entertainment during summer break. Here are some simple (and fun) ways to keep children engaged in learning all summer long.

Take a Casual Approach

Summer learning doesn’t have to resemble a classroom or follow a set structure. Instead, let it happen organically throughout the week. If you’re out for a hike, for example, challenge your kids to identify as many plants, birds and animals as they can. Go geocaching as a family and watch your kids learn how to navigate using GPS coordinates. Work in the garden as a family and talk about why water, sunlight and bees are so important to healthy ecosystems and plant life. If your kids are interested in cooking or baking, use it as an opportunity for a hands-on math and science lesson. Measuring fractions and figuring out how baking soda helps banana bread rise is a pretty delicious lesson at any age. And if you can incorporate music and art into everyday life, that counts as learning, too.

Make It a Game

If your kids like a good challenge, use that to your advantage. You can create a scavenger hunt for young kids or challenge older children to make their own scavenger hunt for siblings or other family members. Some kids will be excited to learn chess or other strategy games, while others might have fun inventing a new board game of their own. Or, encourage your little ones to create an obstacle course in the backyard.

Let your kids explore the world of coding with an awesome Osmo Coding Starting Kit, or inspire a budding engineer with this Gravitrax set.

Consider keeping some STEM activities on hand to keep school-aged kids busy on rainy days. Some great options include Molecule Beads, 4M Money Bank Robot, Gummy Candy Lab or this Crystal Growing Kit.

Motivate Them With Rewards

Plenty of teachers use apps like ClassDojo to encourage positive behaviour in the classroom, while others use simple reward systems like a sticker chart or marble jar (good behaviour results in a marble being added to the jar, and a full jar means a reward for the entire class). Parents can replicate these systems at home by giving kids a marble, pom pom or sticker every time they complete a learning activity. This might include things like a half hour of reading, a sheet of math problems, some age-appropriate scientific research or simply writing in a journal. Give your kids a list of options to choose from and see what they gravitate towards.

Any learning is good learning, especially while on summer break — and on a hot day, an ice cream cone makes a pretty great reward.