Thursday, May 26, 2011

Summer Activities

summerIn Summer Dreams from Our own International Multiples Club, Stephanie shares,

“Then I happened on two calendars put together by our local school district. These calendars have suggested activities for every weekday from the first non-school Monday in June to the last non-school Friday in August. And most of these ideas are cheap or free! AND they will reinforce things that my children have learned this year. AND they will provide a distraction. How could I not be excited?!”

When I read this, I thought it was a great idea!! I also thought it would be a great idea to do for my own classroom. Since I would know what skills and topics were taught, it would be a great way to reinforce the lessons learned during the year and hopefully it will keep students engaged in learning. I remember as a child being so excited that summer had arrived but it wasn’t long before I was complaining to my parents that I was bored and there was nothing to do.

Here is the Greenville County School District Summer Activity Calendar.

I loved looking at the suggestions that were mentioned!

I also thought of other activities that could be done this way. Here are some other ideas:

· Choose a topic for the week (ex.: cars, horse, dinosaurs, reptiles, insects, nutrition, cooking)

· and gear activities to focus on that topic. Activities can include an art activity, cooking activity, and a field trip.

· Choose a project and create something new. Each day could involve one step of the process.

· Keep a journal for each day and keep a record of your actions.

· Young children: Choose a letter for the day and see how many things you can name all day using that letter. They can end the day by drawing some pictures of the things they remember.

· Pretend you bought an island in the Pacific Ocean and you let people come live there. What rules would you make? How would you set up the place so people can live peacefully together?

· Think of something children would like to support (anti litter campaign, no smoking etc.) and come up with a short video promoting their cause.

If you have time, check out the calendar and see if any activities tickle your fancy. If you have any other suggestions, please feel free to share.

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Original image: 'Big Meadows - discovery walk (found a caterpillar)'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73645804@N00/1430509591 by: woodleywonderworks

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is an excellent idea. You are right about kids easily getting bored after the first few weeks of "no school". Keep up the great blog posts.