Reading/Writing/Math Activities over the summer...what are you doing?

My 7-year old twins just completed first grade and will enter 2nd grade in the fall. I believe first and foremost for my kids to have FUN and really enjoy their summer! BUT, I don't want to let reading, writing and math skilsl fall totally to the wayside...that way, easing back into a new school year won't be as jarring.
 
What kinds of reading, writing and math activities are you using with your kids? I plan on having them sign up at the local library for the Reading Book Club which provides fun incentives for reading books. With math, their teachers sent home some worksheets so they can work on those...with writing, I haven't given it too much thought, but I might have them write a "book report" of 2-3 sentences about a book they've enjoyed and draw a picture.  There are also a couple of math websites with games that I plan on trying.
 
Anyways, I'd love some more ideas. Are there any workbooks or activities you do that you'd recommend? Again, I am not looking to bombard my kids with schoolwork. They have fun camps and lazy days ahead of them but I want to keep them current.
 
Thank you!

 

Kahn academy is what we will do for math.

Mine just finished kindergarten and their handwriting is terrible, so we're going to practice that with some printables I found on Pinterest.

 

Khan Academy here as well.  I also have worksheets/writing workbooks that were not used up during the year.  Workbooks you can get at target or that type of store also come in handy.  Playing games with playing cards are fun as well.  Of course reading books is a must! 
 
Michelle, there are apps for handwriting that are kinda cool. 

 

Khan Academy, definitely.
 
I also plan on having my kids do small book reports, like tell me what happened in this chapter and what do you think will happen next.  What did you like, what didn't you like?  With this writing, I hope we can see some better handwriting as well, especially for my son who has gotten to be a sloppy writer.
 
Target, Walmart, Barnes and Noble all have grade level activity books for different subjects.  I'll be picking a few of them up.  Also their school is having a 3 week, free to all students/anyone can sign-up math and reading tutoring program starting June 15th, so they will be doing that.
 
We have not gotten it yet, but their teachers will be sending home a summer reading list and summer work packet too.

 

Reading - library card.  They like reading so that won't be hard.
 
Math - 10 Marks online and Singapore Math story problems with model drawing.
 
Writing - ?

 

Honestly, other than reading, I have never "made" my kids do any kind of schoolwork during the summer.  I don't have to make them read, they love to do it and do it on their own.  We do go to camp, and have every summer since they were 4 (we as in I work at the day camp they attend).  Playing games and the activities at camp keep their brains going, so I have never pushed for them to do anything else--and have never seen a drop off in learning.  In fact, one boy finished 1st grade reading on 1st grade level, decided to read that summer, and when tested at the beginning of 2nd grade, he jumped to a 4th grade reading level.
 
If you really want them to write, let them write letters to grandma, or someone else.  That is much more fun than writing to keep them writing.  Any "schoolwork" in the summer should be (to me) a natural activity, something fun, not something manufactured because you want to keep them going.  I work with someone who every weekend quizzes her K daughter on the Dolch word list, all the other teachers and I look at her like she is crazy--she is going to make the kid hate school before she gets to 3rd grade at this rate!

 

um I'm the loser here I guess....I don't do anything academic in the summer - they read on their own and I buy them books for when it rains or its too hot to go out and do stuff...

 

We do the library reading program every year.  I am also trying to organize (with some other moms) an informal book club for the kids (meet at the library or local ice-cream place and discuss books they are reading).  We do math every day just with everyday things (practice fast math facts when we do money or cooking or legos, etc).  Science is in the back yard experimenting in nature.  I feel like there is so much educational value in the "down time" they spend in the summer that I don't need to plan for more formal academic things.  (the one exception is my one child who has reading difficulties will be meeting with her reading teacher once a week).

 

I do Summer workbooks (Summer Bridge activities). Done it the last two years... one page a day. It's not too bad and they actually like doing them. It's what I did as a kid.
 
Never heard of Khan, had to google it... but I guess we don't have a working printer anyway.

 

My 8 1/2 year olds will be entering Year 5 (grade 4) in August. I don't plan to do much, even though the local culture here is pretty much the opposite. We'll be travelling home anyway and I plan to have them read and school recommends fun activities like cooking together (measuring, capacity, weight), map reading (coordinates), etc. to help their math skills without actually doing boring work books, especially since they're more keen on the mental maths.

 

We don't do anything formal, set schedule, timed, assigned, etc.
 
My kids are readers anyway, so we do the library reading program but they pick books and times. I read a lot too, so often in evenings we all will read to each other. 
 
We play a lot of board games, they write stories to each other, explore, we visit museums, etc. We do guessing games and verbal word games. Math is about the only subject that gets neglected over summer weeks--- but they do make change, predict monetary totals, cook, etc just not as much specific instruction and more creative thinking in math ways. But we've never experienced summer slide. We DONT watch a lot of TV (dont have cable) and have use of ipad, but limited.
 
I really think workbooks are not useful unless you are remediating and/or work closely with an adult. They also have a place, but  unless  you have a kiddo that just loves the format of workbooks (which some honestly do!) , they really can be a weighty anchor on trying to encourage learning independently for the sake of learning.
 
My kids learn different things in summer than school year and I think that is good for them!

 

I might add...please please dont require book reports. 
 
Do a verbal 'review' (did you like it? Would you suggest it? Why? What was the best part?) but please please please don't do a formal book report. Nothing squashes a love of a book more than having to do a formal report on it.
 
My DDs have NEVER done a book report and they are going into 5th. Their school does not do them, nor do they do AR reading program. They read daily and do peer reviews and discussions and book clubs.... but not book reports. Reading is celebrated and talked about, even written about in a journal if you want (and/or great for persuasive essays for books that have moral dilemmas). But a formal book report with summary and such is a chore and will not foster a love of books or learning.
 
Here are some great alternative to book reports:
 
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/book-report-alternatives-elena-aguilar
 
For writing: 
 
A travel journal, a bug/dinosaur/topic of the day is great. Letter to friends or relatives, letters to editors of favorite magazines, rewrite a fairy tale or the ending of a favorite book, take a magazine picture and 'caption' it, Mad Libs, etc. So many fun ways to write without making it cumbersome or dry.

 

My two are currently playing Minecraft.  :lol:
 
They love to read and that's pretty much the most they'll do academic-wise over the summer.  Alice needs to learn to type, so I'll probably look into that starting next week. 

 

We don't do anything formal. Once a week trip to the library. They read to me most days. I did buy them Star Wars math workbooks. It's up to them to do them. I will find them busily working on them randomly or they will ask me questions. They love math and will discuss it at length with me. They quiz each other in the car on spelling. They are at a school camp with tons of field trips, playtime and some activities. At home they get lots of play time. Play is learning. Just the other day one ran into the house wanting to show me something. That 3 x 1/3 cup equals one cup. He said it out loud as he dipped the. 1/3 cup in water and poured it into a cup measure. He then related it to 4 1/4th cups = 1 cup. So there was a math lesson for the day and I didn't do a thing.

 

I haven't done any Kahn Academy with them. Best laid plans and all that.

But today I tried a Pinterest thing I've seen before and it was popular- fill up water balloons and write on them with a sharpie a math problem. To unlock the balloon, give the answer.

 

Of course, all training at the initial stage should be built in a playful way in order to attract and interest the child, as for example I do with my younger son. Many people think that this is quite difficult and of course it is easiest to sit and cram tasks, but this is absolutely not the case. I would also like to note that I like to use paper writing help to quickly solve educational problems at the University.

 

Over the summer, I’ve found that keeping things simple and consistent works best—nothing too rigid, but just enough structure to stay sharp. I mix a bit of morning reading (usually biographies or short nonfiction) with writing exercises a few times a week. Math comes in through puzzles or budgeting practice, just to keep that side active. For those juggling work or family life, I’ve learned that breaking it into 20-minute blocks makes a big difference. When it comes to writing, sometimes there's just not enough time to sit and craft a full essay. In those moments, I’ve used services like write my paper in 3 hours to manage deadlines without the stress. It’s about keeping the brain engaged without burning out—summer should feel productive but also restorative.

 

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