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10 Fun Ways to Keep Kids Learning During Summer Break

While school is out for the summer, this does not mean that kids can stop learning. Summer informal learning, both indoors and out, will help your children avoid what teachers refer to as the summer slide or brain drain. Over the summer, children who are not involved in learning activities will lose up to 25% of their academic skills. They don't have to, though.

The secret to informal summer learning is to keep your children involved in enjoyable learning experiences. Here are ten exercises that will help you maintain your reading, writing, math, science, and other skills. There is something for all ages of children.

1. Instill a love of cooking in your children.

Cooking with kids is a fun bonding activity, and it's a perfect way to teach kids basic math skills in addition to having them interested in meal planning and preparation. Cooking necessitates the use of ratios, percentages, weight conversions, temperatures, and timekeeping, as well as general skills such as following instructions. Cooking with Kids is an excellent resource for recipes, safety tips, and other details.

2. Visit the Zoo

Many learning activities are available at zoos, particularly those with children's sections. For example, the Bronx Children's Zoo in New York City offers activities such as hearing like a fox and climbing a spider's web but don't overlook the petting zoo, where kids can eat and interact with animals directly. Rest and read all of the animal details along the way to the zoo. If you don't have access to a zoo, visit a drive-through reserve or go on a nature walk and keep track of the plants and birds you see.

3. Become a member of a children's book club

The importance of reading during the summer months cannot be overstated. Summer reading clubs are available at several libraries, or you can start your own family or community book club. You may read the story to a group or have each child read the story independently before gathering for a book discussion complete with cake and ice cream. Visit your library or enter a book-giving group like Imagination Library or PJ Library to have older children read to younger children.

4. Participate in Math Games

You can play math games with your kids on Scholastic's website. One game is Shopaholic, in which you prepare what you can get for $5 at the local supermarket, from the ice cream truck, at the hardware store, or at the beach. Then give the money to the kids as a gift. Or Shake it up by gathering change in a container, guessing what's in it on the last day, counting it (counting coins is a required skill), and then planning how to spend it together. Make your child's iPad or iPhone work for you by downloading Math Champ, an app that allows children to compete in a virtual math competition against other children.

5. Participate in a field trip

Field trips to art, science, and history museums have a wealth of educational opportunities. Hands-on activities are popular in children's museums. 14 immersive displays and live theater for children are available at the Long Island Children's Museum. Find a museum in your area. If none are available in your region, you can take a virtual tour of many of the world's best museums online.

6. Self-Publish Your Book

Allow the kids to keep a summer journal to keep them writing in the summer. A plain notebook or a more detailed book with blank pages may be purchased. Draw or paint pictures to go along with the journal. Alternatively, make a scrapbook of postcards from your summer holiday. A picture book can be made by small children.

7. Learn how to fold origami

Arts and crafts are also excellent learning tools. Paper folding, also known as origami, is a fun activity for kids. The directions for making an Origami Crane can be printed out. Building models, modeling clay, bead crafts, and many other crafts provide learning opportunities.

8. Have fun with car games

This is a perfect way to put an end to the "Are we there yet?" questions while still keeping kids away from screens for the duration. These games are recommended by Scholastic: Before you get in the car, you'll need to do some practice. Use a bingo marker to fill in a car bingo card with words, shapes, and things that the kids would see on the ride (stop signs, railroad crossings, etc.). Another game that can be played with objects you see along the way, such as road signs or license plates, is the alphabet game.

9. F-U-N spelled backward

Using family game night to play games like Scrabble (Scrabble Jr for younger kids), Upwords, Boogle, Bananagrams, or crossword puzzles that enable you to use and spell words.

10. Make a Family Vacation a Priority

This is a section for older children. Choose a location using an atlas, map, guidebook, or the internet, and budget for a real or virtual holiday. Choose educational, recreational, or just plain fun places to visit on your itineraries, such as historic sites, parks, beaches, or mini-golf.