Summer Fun: Is School Out? By Mrs. Dorothy Barron
Parents, I hope you have some fun and activities planned for your child/children during their summer vacation from school. Having been a parent, I know that many Parents will insist on some academics over the summer and course work often depends on how well the child did or did not perform in school during the school year. Hopefully, you took time and held a school conference with your child’s teacher(s) prior to the school year ending.
It is important that a child rests and relaxes the mind, but I also understand that many Parents prefer to have their children accomplish one or more of the following goals over the summer:
ü RETAIN knowledge garnered over the year
ü IMPROVE or work at skills the child did not master or perform well over the school year
ü LEARN new skills
If a child or even an adult enjoys or has fun at what he or she does, it often does not appear as work; The “pressure” factor decreases significantly and/or does not exist. Since learning can be fun, I have for this purpose selected three websites and honed in on a specific feature of each site, as well as a physical site. Check the sites out; you may be able to accomplish one or more of the aforementioned goals while having fun as you and/or your child learn.
You know what is best for your child; utilize the sites below to assist you and your child over the summer and/or bookmark for future use. Parents, sites you may want to view:
o The Free Dictionary: This is a fabulous site to assist in the areas of English and language. It offers educational and fun skills in so many different areas; spelling, language, English, learning new words; history, etc. The information is offered in such a manner that you (along with your child/ren) can pick and choose and structure the information to make learning fun. Website: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/
o Education.com: Are you looking for activities that you do not have to search for extensively or create yourself? This site has an array of resources. For busy parents who do not have a lot of time to search and surf the Web, Education.com provides a regular newsletter with activities for each specific age group from pre-school through middle school. Website: http://www.education.com/
o Khan Academy: If your child needs assistance with Math, Founder & CEO Salman Khan of Khan Academy makes Math look easy and non-threatening, regardless of the type of Math. Getting assistance from him in his short video tutorials is akin to sitting down with a friend or older brother who will patiently work with you until you achieve or master the learning objective – “you can do the Math.” Assistance is provided from basic Math equations to Calculus and beyond. Website: http://www.khanacademy.org/#browse
o A Physical Site- The local library: Remember the excitement of reading 10 or more books in order to receive a Summer Reading Program Certificate from the local library. I carried on this tradition with our children. Summer break was about 10 weeks and therefore, one book per week could be read. My husband and I insisted that our sons read at least ten books over the summer; however, I compromised with them and allowed our sons to choose their own books. Needless to say, many of those books they chose were below their reading levels and often consisted of very few pages. As young adult men, one son now is usually reading at least 2-3 different books (not easy reads) in conjunction or at the same time.
You and your child/ren have a good and fun summer; stay safe!
Notes: 1.) Mrs. Dorothy Barron has listed the above websites and Public Library for informational purposes, only; she has not received any endorsements from the above websites or libraries.
2.) For access and/or use of materials at the aforementioned websites, please check the specific website’s terms/conditions.
3.) A special thank you to Mr. Patrick Barron for courtesy of and his permission to use his photographs (All Rights Reserved) for this blog post.
Mrs. Dorothy Barron, Author & Founder
Parents Taking Charge in Education: http://mrsdbarron.blogspot.com
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