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Home-Based Summer School by Dorothy Kropf |
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Like most families, my family welcomes the refreshing season of summer. We enjoy going on a summer vacation, preferably where the beach is pristine and beautiful and where the activities include snorkeling and feasting with poolside food service, watching the sunset across the horizon. Many times, just a visit to the nearby beach with packed lunches and cold drinks is enough to take pleasure from the busy lifestyles we all have. Summer is a time in our home when we can 'let go' of the past academic year and rest from the daily routine the school year brought us. We take bike rides by the bay or roller blade in the park waiting for that ice cream truck to drive along. Watching varieties of summer movies is also fun and revitalizing.
Exercise Those Inquisitive Minds Resting our bodies shouldn’t mean resting our minds. Children as well as adults need to constantly exercise their brains and exercising the brains doesn’t necessarily mean the same, tedious, hard homework and study routines children had during the past academic year. Exercising the brains during the summer can be as simple as reviewing the past year’s academic achievements. These 'review sessions' can help your child remember what he/she learned in the previous academic year and find ease in advancing to his/next grade level. Chances are your child’s new teacher will brush up with last year’s lessons and expectations, but that teacher will also move on to the next academic level with the students and if your child had a firm grasp of the concepts he is learning, the smoother his process will be in advancing to his grade level and maybe even be a little bit more above the average level, giving the student an immense, leading edge in the classroom. Quality Time is Study Time My applause will always be directed to all parents who read to and with their children. It is an uplifting way to bond and create special times together. I also encourage parents to not only sit with their children and read, but to conduct 'mini' study sessions as well. I think of it as a 'mini' summer school. My mini summer school with my 6-year-old son includes reviewing his first-grade spelling words, working on the basic math concepts such as adding and subtracting, telling time and counting money. For reading, we read one book in the morning and one book at night. For writer’s workshop, he writes short essays once a week on the special places we visited this summer. I also work on the vowel sounds, vowel combinations such as ee, oi, oa, ea. I find that my son enjoys these study sessions because it means that I sit next to him and observe how much he has accomplished in the past year! This time of 'bonding' is essential because too many times, we forget that learning is fun and that learning also means spending time with the people who are special to you. Comprehension increases when kids learn around the people they care about. Math Review for Pre-teens and Teens I also have a 12-year-old son who will be in 8th grade this fall. It is important for us to review math lessons together because the required learning pace in higher grades (6-12) is faster than it is in lower grades (K-5). Mastering Algebra skills and other higher-level math classes is always to a student’s advantage. After all, teachers in higher grades have a wider range of topics to cover before state tests and assessments begin in spring next year. If a middle school or highs school student finds himself struggling in the early topics of his school year, catching up to his grade level is even more difficult. Having summer reviews not only saves them from struggling, it also gives them a little advancement over the standard level they should be in. This will boost their self-confidence in these confusing, pubescent years. Since pre-teens and teens worry about many things such as clothes and pimples and the popularity gauge in school, worrying about 'getting it' when it comes to learning should be resolved as early as possible. Reading with Pre-teens and Teens My 12 year old also enjoys reading with me. He and I have reading sessions together. This summer, we are reading Shakespeare’s 'Hamlet'. We particularly enjoy reading the lines of different characters in different tones and demeanor. I discovered that maybe my son could have some type of 'theatrical' talent that I have not realized before. Parents of middle school or highs school students should try this activity because it is fun, it’s a great way to spend time together, and maybe, just maybe you will discover your child’s hidden talent in the theatre. Rewards, Rewards, Rewards Just as a teacher would reward her students with blue ribbons, fancy erasers, stickers and certificates, parents should also reward their children in similar ways when hard work and exceptional patience with pride in one’s work is shown. It is amazing that a simple certificate that says 'Great Handwriting!' can put a smile on any child’s face. Even simply placing a sticker on the page of a book in which the child read exceptionally well motivates him even more to read each page of the book with tremendous enthusiasm. It doesn’t take much for a child to feel that his work has great worth. It’s Not Too Late It’s not too late to start your home-based summer school. Most of the supplies you’ll need are already in your home. Some people prefer to go to a bookstore or a teachers’ supplies store for supplemental teaching materials. FLASHCARDS are popular teaching tools at home and in schools. Flashcards can range from picture cards to multiplication/division flash cards depending on your child’s grade level. Pre-school and Kindergarten students can start with picture cards in which they can learn how to say the words, the beginning sounds as well as the ending sounds. You can purchase flashcards anywhere like Wal-Mart or Toys R Us, shop online at some of my recommended sites or you can make your own flashcards or have your child make his own flashcards. WORKSHEETS are especially helpful because they also train your child to do some work as they would in school. Students in the grade levels starting from first grade and up can read their own instructions when working on the worksheets - a great practical practice to learn at an early age. Books filled with worksheets ranging from Phonics to Math, from Geography to History can be purchased at various bookstores and teachers’ supply stores. The sites I recommend also have the abundance of workbooks and flashcards I mentioned. You can make one-stop online purchases with some of these amazing sites. Conducting SCIENCE & MATH PROJECTS in your home is a fun way to learn. Children love Science because of the hands-on experiments they get from them in schools. Parents sometimes forget the fun of having these hands-on experiences. Working on a science project together is great quality time well spent for you and your child, its fun and exciting and quite an educational one as well. Your child will not forget these projects and experiments. As we live in this technological age, let us not forget utilizing various types of COMPUTER SOFTWARE to assist your child in his educational goals. There are literally hundreds of computer software out there that can help your child improve his phonics, reading, math and cognitive thinking skills. Your child will always enjoy the interactive experience they have with the colorful and lively characters in their computer. We are so fortunate to live in this age and time when the possibilities are endless with our technology. Experience your computer and make the most of it. Learn a new language, tour a European museum, and explore all seven continents of the world. The key to learning is exploration and what better way to explore right from your own home than with the computer. As with anything, surfing on the information highway should be handled with care, taking necessary precautions for your and your child’s safety. What is summer without those family outings and picnics, amusement park trips and heartwarming visits with the grandparents? As you get busy with fun-filled agenda with your child, don’t forget to take further FIELD TRIPS to museums, zoos and your local library. Some bookstores and local libraries conduct reading sessions for children, along with book signing from their favorite authors. Check with your local library and bookstore for further details. Field trips provide audio, visual and tactile learning experiences for you and your child. Don’t Overdo It I have emphasized this many times, 'Learning should be fun'. If conducting home-based summer schools strains your relationship with your child, then maybe you need to re-evaluate the types of expectations you are placing onto him. Home-based summer schools should be nothing but 'review' or 'exploration' sessions. It shouldn’t stress you or your child out, or wear each other down. The day you drop off your child to school this fall, is the beginning of standardized expectations placed upon him from his teachers and school. Use this summer time to bond, have fun and enjoy your child. As you enjoy each other’s company, the learning process is enhanced, giving your child superior opportunities to excel academically. © 2002 Dorothy Kropf. All rights reserved. Re-printed with permission. Originally published on Suite 101. |
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A mother of two, Dorothy Kropf is dedicated to giving other parents tools and resources to help their children succeed academically. | ||
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