Summer is just around the corner, and you may be asking yourself whether taking a break from schoolwork or continuing to practice academic skills is better.
Taking a long vacation from reading, writing, and math can erode the skills you helped strengthen over the school year. This is especially true for kids with learning challenges. It's important to find a balance between vacation from school and supporting school skills.
Here are some ideas for continuing academic support while changing up the routine just enough to make it feel like fun and not all work-
1. Have your child keep a journal of their daily activities- decide together how long it should be, whether you will help them edit their spelling errors, and whether your child will share their journal with you.
2. Read the same books as your child and have a mini-book club together. Maybe you can find the book as a movie and watch it together. Discuss how the book was different from the movie. Share what you liked and disliked about the book or movie.
3. Watch TV with the sound off but the closed caption on, and read the text together. Pause and discuss what is happening every now and then.
4. Cook together- allow your child to read the recipe, make the shopping list, read the labels at the store, read the recipe aloud while cooking, and do all of the measuring.
5. Don't forget about the great summer reading programs libraries offer.
Adapted from Understood.org
Mary Bower
Milton-Union Literacy Coach