Our Summer Learning Schedule
I’m a very strong proponent of a completely laid back and fun filled summer vacation as a big break from all of the hard work completed all school year long. Particularly this year, because I am planning to have us start up school a month sooner than we normally would(just in case we have to take some extra time off after Finn is born!)
But, even with all of the iPad, movies, pool time, and outdoor play, I’ve actually still found a few fun ways to sneak in some extra summer learning for Miss Abigail(and Miss Mabel gets to benefit from some of it too!)
So I thought it would be fun to share with y’all some of the things we’re loving this summer in our laid back “summer learning” environment.
Our Summer Learning Schedule:
In the car:
We spend a good bit of time driving around in the car! During the school year we’re pretty much only listening to our Classical Conversations CD’s on repeat, so it has been fun to get to listen to something else for a change. Abigail was recently introduced to Adventures in Odyssey(something that Jim listened to as a kid as well!) and has been absolutely loving listening to all of the stories and adventures that they have.
Another thing I ordered recently is the Story Of The World audio books. We LOVE this history series, but sometimes it’s nice to have someone read the book for you 😉
Reading:
Abigail is doing more and more independent reading and is really loving being able to read these Billie B. Brown books! They’re so cute(and her Mom has a little brother in the series!) so she has been feeling so proud being able to read those on her own in her quiet time and also reading to us, as well.
A few other series that I ordered for this summer that we’ve been working our way through are Mercy Watson(seriously LOVE these. SO, so cute), Imagination Station, and Magic Tree House.
Typing:
I decided that I wanted Abigail to learn how to type and that it would be a fun “summery” thing for her to work on! It was surprisingly hard for me to find a program that she could use and was compatible with our computer. Apparently, most programs are apps or websites these days- and I wanted her to use our actual desktop AND I didn’t want her out on the www. so I needed to find a CD that fit the bill. Fortunately, this Mickey Typing Adventure did!
She has progressed so much already, it has been amazing to watch. There have been a few times where she has gotten frustrated because she can’t just “move on” before she has passed whatever little test they have, but after trying again and again she has always been able to progress to the next little adventure.
Plus, it’s Mickey and friends, which is such a good time she doesn’t even notice she is learning a valuable skill 😉
Handwriting:
In addition to typing, Abigail had mentioned that she would like to learn how to write in cursive, so I just recently picked her up this book so she can start learning her cursive letters. It also has fun step by step drawing to coordinate with the letters and optional coloring pages too(which is right up her alley!)
Fun Stuff:
Other fun things that I have found for her are this Hello Kitty Sticker/Activity Book– seriously this thing is AMAZING! Best quiet time find for Abigail…possibly ever.
She has also been doing her Charlotte’s Web play- 8 shows! And just finished up yesterday.
She has also lost her other front tooth since this picture 😉
What fun, educational things do you do for summer learning with your kiddos?
You can shop the items in this post, right here!
You are on it! I love Abigail’s desire to learn! Liam has some work he needs to do on our computer in anticipation of Kindergarten in the fall. First day he sat down to do it, I realized he didn’t know how to use a mouse! It was a proud moment (yay for a limited screen time) but also a “wow, glad we are getting on this now!” He loves it & having “work” to do, as that is what I call my time on the computer. 😉
Yeah, she has never had a chance to use our actual desktop or laptop before! She has only ever used our phones/ipad, so it has been a fun change for her to use an actual mouse and keyboard!
I’m so glad that she is interested in learning cursive! Cursive is no longer taught in schools in my area. I was shocked when I found that out. Kids still need to know how to sign their names, you know?
Also, have you heard of the “Dear America” series of books? They are a bit advanced for Abigail now, but I think I started reading them when I was around the 5th/6th grade? If you haven’t heard of them, they are written in the form of the diaries of young girls centered around certain events in US History – the Great Depression, Civil War, Titanic, Immigration, The Oregon Trail, WWII, etc.
I don’t think cursive is taught in schools around here anymore either(though, I could be wrong about that)
And I used to read the Dear America books when I was little! I can’t wait to introduce her to more of those stories over the next few years!
If you can, get the older copies, as I think they are much “fancier.” I just loved the hard covers and the silk bookmarks – I don’t think they are included in the new versions 🙁
Victoria and Joshua really loved Amelia Bedilia books you can get them in the library. We just ran across one when I was packing up some books. It might be too easy for her but she might enjoy the humor .
We love Amelia Bedelia!
What a great plan for summer! I picked up some fun alphabet sound and tracing activities at Sams, we’re working on letters, rhyming, songs, chores around the house, along with all the friendship activities with kids her age. I like that you’ve even thought of things to do in the car! I need to check out some cd options at our library. Thanks for the tip!
Sounds awesome! I’m sure she’s loving all of that.
You are on top of things! My Connor is the same age as Abigail. He loves to read and after going to the library will read an entire chapter book in a day ? I don’t know if you’ve looked into these already, but Nancy Clancy books are really cute and age appropriate for her. And you have reminded me that I really need to find a program to work on typing at home with my kids.
Sounds like such a fun, educational summer! I remember that Mickey typing program from when I was learning to type!
Oh really?! I used Mavis Beacon, haha!
i love everything you share on eduction… official or casual! and i forgot about adventures in odyssey!!!!!!! omg!!!!!
That’s a huge compliment! Thank you! 🙂