Hello, Parents and Friends! You’re likely here because someone has convinced you that working with your children on academics during the summer is very beneficial. Let me start by congratulating you for being so invested in your child’s education. You won’t believe what a difference parent involvement makes in a child’s enthusiasm for schoolwork. It’s something that I witnessed every day of my teaching career. You’re already on the right track!
Now, let me be frank: Choosing the right program to teach effectively your child can be daunting. There are so many resources out there, and some of them are expensive, to boot. I’ve come up with five simple steps to get you moving confidently in the right direction. And give your internet search engine a break because all of the resources you need to get started are right here in our summer kit.
Step 1: Revisit Report Cards
Look back at those old homework folders and see if you can decipher your youngster’s academic abilities thus far. What were specific areas of concern that your child’s teacher talked with you about throughout the year? Even subjects that come easily to your child could stand a little review. If you’re having trouble pinpointing the skills that your child is missing, try taking one of our online practice tests. The results of these tests will give you a clearer idea of the skills in your child’s repertoire still “under construction”.
Step 2: Set an Agenda
Explain to your child that everyone forgets things sometimes and that these exercises and brainteasers are good ways to reinforce what they already know. Then, create a learning schedule with your child ahead of time. For instance, Mondays are math every day at 2 pm, followed by frozen yogurt. Tuesdays are reading at 2 pm, followed by a trip to the park. Knowing the goals ahead of time may prevent your little student from putting up such a fight. The frozen yogurt and the park are just suggestions. But it is a good idea to reward completed work with something fun. It gives both of you something to look forward to!
Step 3: Evaluate, Evaluate, Evaluate
Our Summer Kit includes worksheets sorted by grade-level (Grades 3 – 8). Start with the grade your child just completed and try out some worksheets at that level. The most important areas to work with kids are English/Language Arts, Reading, and Math, and it just so happens that those are the resources in the Summer Kit. As your child progresses, try mixing up different grade level questions to keep the work fresh.
Step 4: Supplement Schoolwork with Activities
In the Summer Kit blogs, we’ve written suggestions for alternate ways to learn during the summer break. (After all, summer is all about having fun and doing things you don’t have time for during the school year.) Visit any of the Teachers Speak blog posts for tips on how to incorporate hands-on, out-of-the-box adventures into your weekly learning routine. Often these lessons are retained in your child’s memory much longer than the standard worksheet-flashcard instruction
Step 5: Take it To the Next Level
Once you complete the worksheets in our kit, take stock of the milestones you’ve completed through Lumos Learning and search for further resources. You can use our convenient EdFinder to locate tutoring, book suppliers, and apps that best meet your child’s needs. By now, you’ve probably narrowed down some specific learning challenges and can better choose from all of the resources at your disposal.
Thanks for stopping by! We hope that you can use this kit as a starting point. Whatever you choose to do to infuse academics into your child’s summer break, know that every effort helps. Every book you read together, math problem you solve, or science experiment that you complete are effective in more ways that you can measure. The best part is of all is that you and your child will be creating memorable experiences as a team.
