Summer Learning

I notice that the "teacher" aspect of this blog is severely lacking. I have been trying to find time to work on my portfolio and create lesson plans to share, but obviously not trying hard enough. This should change this summer. I will start courses in August and plan to work with my kids over the summer.

My daughter is struggling with reading, so part of my plan for summer is to come up with activities that help her work through it. She is able to read, but reading comprehension is another skill and that is where she struggles. She's a very concrete girl, when it comes to learning. If you can show her something physically, she is able to do it, but something more abstract (like remembering a part of a story) is harder. This explains why her math grade is stellar but reading is keeping her off the honor roll.

My son will be starting Kindergarten this fall, and though we are all excited about this I believe that he needs a little more practice in order to adapt to the classroom. It also helps to have lesson plans for him while I’m working with his sister. We started an Alphabet book last year, and I am going to create a new one this year. I will put the book together next week and will share it then.

If I don't make goals, I won't reach them. I also have high hopes in May that tend to get shelved by the end of June. I don’t want this year to be the same. I know that my kids need some form of structure during the summer, so I am working on it now.

Summer Goals:

Create an Alphabet book

Participate in at least 2 Summer Reading programs

Create a story-telling board

Keep a Summer Vacation journal

I may add to this list, but will stop there. My lists tend to get long because there is so much I want to do, but then that makes it seem impossible. As I cross things off, I’ll add more. If you haven’t started planning for the summer, you may want to look into some programs. It is said that kids can lose up to a whole MONTH of learning over summer break.