Summer Exploring and Learning Tips: Beyond Booklists

Science and Math

• Turn simple activities into science experiments.
  • Encourage hypothesizing by asking lots of open-ended questions during everyday activities, like taking a bath.  (What will happen when you put different objects in water — soap, a sock, a shampoo bottle. Which ones will float? Which ones will sink? Why or why not?)
  • Bring a bird or tree identification book along with you when you go for a walk through the park and ask your child to identify what he or she sees. 
  • Grow a houseplant together.  Water the plant with your child, and have your child choose a place in the house with plenty of sunshine for it to live. As it grows, show your child how to remove dead leaves, fertilize, and re-pot the plant.
• Make the most out of a trip to the museum.
  • Ask questions about what you see to increase your child's scientific vocabulary.  (What does the botanical garden look like? In which part of the world can these gems or minerals be found? What dinosaur is the biggest?)
  • Create at-home, hands-on projects to accompany your experience in the museum.  (After a trip to the aviation museum, help your child put together an inexpensive model airplane.)
  • Go on a treasure hunt!  Make a scavenger hunt out of your visit by creating a list of "treasure" to find (e.g., a precious gem, an image or diorama of a foreign land or earlier time, a fossil), and work together to check off the list. 
• Practice estimating skills around the house.
  • Ask your child to estimate the weight of common objects in the house (e.g., a can of beans, the family cat, a stack of books), then have your child weigh them to see how close his or her guess was to the actual weight. 
  • For an added challenge, practice converting pounds to ounces and other units of measurement.
  • Color code measuring cups and spoons, marking the ¼ teaspoon and ¼ cup red, and the ½ teaspoon and ½ cup blue.  Adding visual clues can help them to identify similar measurements and fractions. The next time you're in the kitchen, have your child help you measure out the ingredients by using these tools.
• Use money to teach your child about math—and budgeting!
  • Do you give your children allowance?  Working with them to spend even a very small amount of money in a store can help them practice addition and subtraction (not to mention responsible spending habits!).
  • Cook dinner or make a special dish for the family or an elderly neighbor.  Ask your child to pick his favorite recipe to make and buy the items together in the grocery store.  Challenge older children to do the math to double the recipe (and the budget) to serve your family as well! 
  • Teach your older child about tipping in restaurants.  Many stationary stores sell charts that can help you and your child figure our how much to tip your server.  Explain how and why you tip different people (e.g., waiters, bellhops, etc.), and when your child is old enough, practice calculating the tip.  
• Explore and learn online! 
  • PBS Zoom Science offers hands-on activities for kids in a variety of areas from life to chemical science.
  • Brainy Kids offers a variety of activities to learn about the brain. This is a great site with games and activities for students in grades 3-9.
  • Science Monster contains activities, lessons, and games for students, grades 6 and up.  
  • Fun Brain offers a variety of games and activities to help with learning math facts.

History and Social Studies

• Travel the world, starting in your own town!  
  • Visit historical sites in your town.  Check your town's visitor center or look online for undiscovered historical or cultural treasures nearby. 
  • Before eating at an ethnic restaurant or shop, have your child locate the country that you will "visit" on a map.  (You can visit Italy, India, and China all in one week!)
  • Practice reading maps with your child. Map simple routes on local maps, like how to get to the closest grocery store, and then have your child follow the route on the map with his or her finger as you drive.  Give your older child an address and have them map the route online and be in charge of navigating the route along the way.  
• Learn about history and foreign countries from people who have lived it.  
  • Talking to grandparents about their pasts is a fun and interesting way for kids to learn about history—and about themselves.  
  • Have your child "step" into history by interviewing senior citizens in your neighborhood who have lived through World War II or some other life-changing event. Help them document their stories for others to share.
  • Travel the country or world with your child through the tales of those who've done the leg work! Ask a neighbor or relative about a trip they've made to a different state or even a foreign country. Encourage your child to learn about new and unknown places through "armchair" travel. 
• Explore and learn online!
  • Who What When is a great site for older children. It offers interactive timelines, explores historical events, and has fun lists about famous people.
  • Our Timelines offers your child an opportunity to make a timeline of his or her life, family, school events, etc.
  • National Geographic Kids is filled with games and resources that teach your child about the people, animals, and histories of different places in the world.
  • Google Earth Take a birds-eye look at your house, neighborhood, town, city, and planet using this tool from Google that allows you to browse real satellite images!

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