Multisensory Monday: Summer Learning

School is out, temperatures are rising, and summer is here! Kids think summer is when learning ends and the fun begins. While that may be partially true, learning does not need to stop, and it also does not need to be in the form of pencil and paper. 

Learning can be implemented in many different summer activities that kids are doing daily. The best part is that they will not feel like it is learning, and they will be happy to engage in the activities because they are having fun. Listed below are some summer activities that can be played while learning and practicing reading skills. 

Going to the beach:

1. Spell words in the sand.
2. Build a word with the sand. 
3. Draw a sequence of 3-4 events of a story in the sand and narrate it.
4. Find objects that begin with letters of the alphabet. 
5. Find rocks or shells and spell letter sounds or words.

Sporting events/activities:

1. Baseball practice, answer a comprehension question correctly, get a pitch to hit.
2. Volleyball, spell a word, one letter at a time, going back and forth with the ball.
3. Badminton/Tennis, hit back and forth trying to think of as many words that start with a specific letter until someone can no longer think of one. That person gets appointed and then goes onto the following letter.
4. Soccer practice, ask a trivia question. If they get it wrong, run sprints back and forth. Get it right, challenge the other person with an exercise or question.
5. Basketball, play a version of PIG or HORSE, but use new words that get longer the more you play

These are just a handful of ideas that you can do to increase summer learning and prevent the summer slide. There are plenty more ways to implementing learning throughout the summer, like chalk, water activities, time around the bonfire, to name a few. The activities are very versatile in how they can apply. Have fun and enjoy the time together while learning! 

Written by Brittney Urban.