Say No to Summer Brain Drain: 20 Educational Activities for Kids

Did you know that children who aren’t engaged in educational activities during the summer lose about 2.6 months of math skills and 2 months of reading skills?

Summer vacation is here! Hooray!

And with it, it takes along its trusty sidekick: brain drain. But there is a way to prevent Mr. Brain Drain from entering your home and robbing your children of what they learned from school.

How? Here are simple, low-cost and educational activities for kids.

Note: Adjust difficulty level according to your kiddos age and skills.

Fun Summer Learning Activities:

Math

1. Shape muncher. Teach children about shapes and patterns the fun way. Download printables from Lory’s Page.

2. Kiddie chefs. Kids learn about measuring and approximating as well as fractions – half or three-fourths of a cup – when they bake or cook. Other bonus learnings are: following instructions, creativity and cooking delicious food.

3. Puzzle buster. A study has shown that kids aged 2 – 4 who played with simple puzzles had increased spatial skills. Tetris, picture puzzles, number puzzles and other types keep the brain sharp.

4. Budding photographer. Learning how to take pictures improves spatial skills since it involves shapes, angles and sizes. If you have a friend who’s into photography, ask him or her to give your children a few lessons. If you have extra cash for it however, do enroll your children in a class.

5. Little entrepreneur. Whether it’s pretend or real, have your children sell something. Play stores or actual lemonade stands are good ways to learn about money. Gather your friends and neighbors, if you chose the latter, to make the experience more fun and meaningful.

6. Pirate’s treasure hunt. Create a simple map of your home and ask your children to find hidden prizes. This simple game increases spatial skills.

Science

7. Crack the mystery of the faster floating egg. Do you want to teach your children about water density? Grab 2 glasses and fill one with tap water, while the other with salted water (use several table spoons of salt). Put one egg in each and watch what happens. (Explanation can be found here.)

8. Space journey. Not everyone has the budget to fly to space, so flip open a book, kindle or laptop to teach children about the wonders beyond planet earth. You may also visit a planetarium for this non-space space adventure (get it?).

9. Water art. Evaporation may be easier to explain by showing it. Armed with a bucket of water, large paint brushes and the summer heat, ask children to paint anything on concrete. Watch with them as the water slowly disappears.

10. (Green) thumbs up! Choose any fruit, flower or vegetable that will flourish in your area. For example, the monggo seed is often used when introducing planting or gardening to Filipino children since it grows fast.

11. Two-faced apple. Cut an apple into 2. Leave one half untouched and dip the other into a mixture of water and fresh lemon juice. Return to the slices after about 45 minutes and then ask your children to identify which half browned faster. (Explanation can be found here.)

12. Pick an animal. Scribble different animals on strips of paper, roll them up and place in a bowl. Have children pick 1 or 2 rolled-up pieces of paper each day and teach them fun facts about the animal(s). (Helpful sources: Nat Geo | Kids Planet | Facts About Animals)

Writing

13. Don’t write on paper. Write letters, numbers or words on sand, salt or sugar. For the latter, you may use food coloring to make spelling green, red and blue even more interesting.

14. Now it’s time to write on paper. Tracing is the best way to practice and refine those motor skills so download free tracing sheets and hand them to the kiddos.

16. I spy with my little pencil. Get a timer, pen and sheets of paper. Stay in one part of your house, say the name of an item found in the room and wait for your children to write it down. See how many words they can scribble in under 7 minutes.

Reading

17. Bring me a label. Label things found inside different rooms, being careful not to let your children see what you’re doing. When you’re done, call out an item and ask your children to retrieve the correct label and hand it to you.

After you’re done collecting all the labels, see if your children can read them now that they’ve been peeled-off.

18. Stay away from regular books. Only if your kiddos are bored with them, of course. Interactive children’s books found online can bring back the fun in reading. Comic strips are also a great alternative.

Others

19. Explore. Stimulate children’s minds by offering them something new. Whether it’s music, art, stories, places, cultures or languages, it will do your kiddos a lot of good to experience something they haven’t.

20. Physical activities. Dancing, martial arts or sports are good ways to keep children’s minds sharp as they help improve coordination, balance and movement.

These are just a few ideas to keep young idle minds busy during the long break. This way when they return to school, they’ll still be as sharp – if not better – than when last school year ended.

What activities for kids do YOU let your little ones do to ward off brain drain?

Photos:
Space from Jack000
Pencil from Chris Kempso