Search results matching tag 'alphabet summer'

An Alphabet of Play

Anonymous — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 14:00:00 GMT

We've just finished planning a summer's worth of alphabet play, making our bucket lists and gathering our supplies for Alphabet Summer. (It's "A Day" today!) Thinking about playing with the alphabet reminds me of the wonderful book/collection of art, A Child's Day: An Alphabet of Play, by Ida Pearle.

Wouldn't it be fun to have kids make their own version, maybe with shadow silhouettes or self-portraits? Alphabet books are the best book making inspiration!

What are your favorite alphabet books? I know, it's hard to choose! You can find some more Alphabet favorites over in my Amazon shop.

Happy Monday!

I'm an Amazon affiliate, which means if you click through my site to make a purchase, I receive a commission. Thanks for your support!

Don't Forget the Skills

Anonymous — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 22:30:00 GMT

The lazy days of summer should be a time for families to relax and recharge. But hey, what about the dreaded summer slump? You don't need to fill the schedule with non-stop summer school style activities to keep those brains sharp. Summer skill review can be a natural and fun part of the vacation plan.

Kids can log summer adventures to keep writing skills sharp.

We basically stick to activities that are already part of our year-round routine, but during summer, we are able to spend more time and leisurely enjoy them. Read alouds, writing to each other, and practicing math facts and letter sounds in the car are all great ways to keep skills fresh, and to introduce new ones. Take advantage of the slower summer pace. One more book before bedtime? No problem. We can sleep in tomorrow!

Besides the basic routines....

For children performing at grade level, I recommend listing a few skill areas to focus on over the summer. Keep the list short. For example, does your child need practice reading with expression? Remembering math facts? Adding details in writing? I choose a couple of simple skills that can be practiced in many ways, then I write them down in my calendar so I'll remember to reinforce them when we read, write and play this summer.

We also add a few more opportunities for skill practice within our Alphabet Summer plan, for example this year my boys have both made gains in writing, and I don't want them to lose momentum over the summer. We'll keep a kind of summer journal, to write/draw about any topic, related to the letter of the day. This year my seven year old is planning to make an alphabet-themed sports book, and my soon-to-be Kindergartner wants to build each letter out of Lego, then draw and describe how he did it. My two year old wants to do everything his brothers do, so in his book we'll do large letter drawings that he can color or fill in with dots, or we can make the letters out of play-doh together while the big boys work. They can replace the covers with their own art work, add pages as needed, and basically do anything they want to do...The idea is to build in some more regularly scheduled time to write.

For a printable Alphabet Adventure Log, click here. Available in blank, or activity book format.

Look for games that provide opportunities to review basic skills. My kids love the game show, Minute to Win It, so we use that concept to set up all kinds of challenges for them to accomplish. Usually it's building stacks of Dixie Cups or balancing quarters, but since they like the format, we can also use it to review other skills. For example, the other day my son suggested that he do as many math facts as he can in a minute. He doesn't realize this but he's come up with the perfect way to prepare for those timed math tests he'll encounter next year.

In a nutshell, we set up a basic routine for our summer days. We prioritize a few important skills to learn or review, and we try to sneak the skill practice into fun learning activities and routines. Then we schedule in lots of time for new experiences and unstructured play, since lots of learning is happening then too.

Here are more resources for summer learning:

Slow the Slide: Keeping Kids Summer Smart
More great information on the importance of summer reading
For children who are below grade level in any area, summer is a good time to find extra support. Here are some tips for finding the right tutor.

What are your tricks for making summer learning meaningful and fun?

Make Your Way Through the ABCs

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 14:00:00 GMT

What to do this summer when you aren't on the go?

Make (and do) the ABCs with an alphabet themed bucket list. Many of these activities would be great inside or out, so they're equally perfect for rainy summer days, or for a little down time in the backyard.

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A: Make paper airplanes.
B: Build a hot air balloon.
C: Create a catapult.
D: Disguise yourself. Make up your own or print these for inspiration.
E: Eat something yummy or learn embroidery.
F: Build a fort.
G: Plant a garden. Or make a sensory garden!
H: Host a hootenanny! For musical inspiration, start here, also try this, and this.
I...And of course, you'll need some fabulous instruments.
J: Juggle, or tell some jokes, or make something with a jar.
K: Play Kick the Can.
L: Launch a rocket or make lemonade.
M: Make a marble maze or something to hold your money.
N: Make something with noodles.
O: Fold origami.
P: Make a paper plate paddle ball game or a potion.
Q: Play twenty questions
R: Make a racetrack.
S: Make a sculpture with marshmallows or sugar cubes, or a strainer, or straws.
T: Make a Town out of boxes. This one is alphabet themed! (Yes, I'm obsessed!)
U: Spend some time under the stars to observe the universe. And make these!
V: This trusty ol' volcano project never gets old!
W: Play in the water! Wash something in the sprinkler, or create the world's best bike wash!
X ...Marks the spot! Hide a treasure and make a map for someone to find it. Arr, matey!
Y: Make a Yo-yo
Z: Make a mini zipline

What would you add to the list?

Come back Friday for more Alphabet Summer!

Make Your Way Through the ABCs

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 14:00:00 GMT

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Alphabet Summer 2011: Find the Alphabet

Anonymous — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 14:00:00 GMT

Want to have an Alphabet Summer with us this year? It's one of our favorite family traditions. This year is our fourth annual, and the agenda is definitely the best yet!

For us, the point of Alphabet Summer is to provide just the right amount of summer structure, to do some simple and playful summertime adventures, and to avoid the summer slump without busting out workbooks and getting all school-y.

Here is how we've done things in the past. This summer, on each alphabet themed day we'll do three things that relate to the letter of the day: (1) Find the letter as part of a summer-long scavenger hunt, (2) make something, and (3) read and write something. Everything on the docket is meant to be easy (for me), fun (for everyone), and fairly fast (so we still have time to eat popsicles and run through the sprinkler.) We just do two or three letters each week, so we have days off for other summer adventures.

Here's the finding part of our Alphabet Summer plan:

Alphabet Scavenger Hunt

Each morning the kids wake up to find directions leading them to the alphabet treasure of the day. For the most part, treasures will be hidden around the neighborhood. Though I'm sure some days I'll be lazy and hide them in the house, and occasionally I'll be ambitious and hide them someplace else, like Dad's work, grandparents' house, or somewhere really adventurous.

I write some simple clues/directions to help kids find the treasure, along with a treasure map of course.
My husband cooperatively drops off each treasure on his way to work in the morning. He's a good sport!
When the kids get up, we go for a walk and find the treasure. Treasures are any little thing that starts with the letter of the day. (And probably something that that isn't particularly valuable, for obvious reasons.)
They can draw or write about their treasure if they'd like.

Variation (Also known as, An Even BETTER Plan):

Have the kids determine the treasure and do the hiding. They make directions and a map and you find the treasure. I kind of love this idea because it's less work for the parents. Oh yes, and it allows the kids to do the creative thinking, writing/drawing, etc. (Self directed learning = thumbs up!)

My boys actually came up with the first plan (I hide, they find), so that's what we're doing this year. I do think either version is fabulous for different reasons.

Details on the making and reading/writing parts of the plan coming up next week...

What do you think? If you want to play along, chime in below in the comment section and let us know how you're celebrating Alphabet Summer at your house!

Alphabet Summer 2011: Find the Alphabet

Anonymous — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 14:00:00 GMT

Want to have an Alphabet Summer with us this year? It's one of our favorite family traditions. This year is our fourth annual, and the agenda is definitely the best yet!

Alphabet Scavenger Hunt

I write some simple clues/directions to help kids find the treasure, along with a treasure map of course.
My husband cooperatively drops off each treasure on his way to work in the morning. He's a good sport!
When the kids get up, we go for a walk and find the treasure. Treasures are any little thing that starts with the letter of the day. (And probably something that that isn't particularly valuable, for obvious reasons.)
They can draw or write about their treasure if they'd like.

Reading and Writing on the Road

Anonymous — Mon, 02 May 2011 06:36:00 GMT

I can't believe it's May! It's been nine months of driving kids to school, to practices, to play dates, home from school... Are you getting tired of the same ol' driving routine yet? If so, here are some ideas to spice up your commute. (Walkers and bus riders can get in on the fun too.)

Fortunately during car rides, my kids are usually willing to just sit and chat with me, something they are slightly less likely to do when they aren't strapped down. For the most part, we talk and listen to music and look out the window. But then there are those days when the passengers (and/or the driver) are just feeling a bit grouchy, annoying, or argumentative. Those are the days when we need a distraction. That's when we bust out the car games!

I started to keep a list of our favorite car games, and I noticed that lots of them have some reading and writing skills built in. (Shocker, I know!) So I typed them up to share with you. Just click here and print your own, cut pages in fourths and attach with a binder ring. For best results, I recommend printing on cardstock and laminating.

Reading and Writing on the Road is a little guide for you to print and keep in your glove compartment for those times when you'd like some fun ideas that sharpen literacy skills while passing the miles.

In the guide, you'll find fourteen games and activities, including old standards, like an alphabet themed version of I Spy. There are some ideas for creative storytelling, and persuasive speaking, and games that practice letter and sound recognition and reinforce comprehension skills. I've also included some suggestions for creating road kits for your kids, and a few of our favorite audiobook recommendations.

Directions are short and simple, so you can get the gist of the games while you're parked and remember them long enough to explain them while you're driving.

And as I mentioned, it's May already. Which means summer is around the corner, and these would be perfect for a summer road trip.

What are your favorite tricks to keep the kiddos happy in the car?

Reading and Writing on the Road

Anonymous — Mon, 02 May 2011 06:36:00 GMT

Alphabet City

Anonymous — Sun, 01 May 2011 04:46:00 GMT

I meant to post this last week for Earth Day, but since every day is supposed to be Earth Day... Here's a fun way to reuse old boxes and practice beginning letter sounds at the same time:

A couple of years ago, during Alphabet Summer, our empty boxes became an Alphabet City. We made one building to go with each letter of the alphabet, and by the end of the summer, we had a cool city for our various animals and action figures. We included the basics, like our house, a school, a church, and a grocery store. Plus friends’ houses, local parks and other favorite places from our town.

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I recommend choosing boxes that nest inside one another well, so you can pick up and store your city easily in between play sessions. We used mostly cereal box size or smaller to keep the Alphabet City from overtaking our house. If you have the space, you could go BIG!

This summer, my Lego-loving son is already planning to try it again with Legos and set it up on our neighborhood playmat.

Give it a try during Earth month, or summer vacation, or whenever you have 26 extra boxes and some time on your hands! If you'd like some building suggestions, here's the link.

Unfortunately since I wasn't blogging and documenting many of our projects back then, I didn't think to take a picture of our city, but the top image above gives you the basic idea.

If you make one, do take a picture! I'd love to see how your Alphabet City turns out!

Alphabet City

Anonymous — Sun, 01 May 2011 04:46:00 GMT

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