Shiloh Point
Sharks
Get Ready for Summer!
Ideas for Shiloh Point Families
The school bell may stop ringing, but summer is a great time for all kinds of learning
opportunities for kids. Here is a beach bag full of activities for Shiloh Point families to get ready
for summer and to launch children to fun, enriching summertime experiences.
Ideas for summer learning fun
Create active learning experiences: Check with your local department of parks and recreation
about camps and other activities. Find out what exhibits, events, or concerts are happening in
your town over the summer.
Build reading and writing into everyday activities: Some ideas include: (1) watching TV with
the sound off and closed captioning on, (2) reading directions for how to play a new game, or (3)
helping with meals by writing up a grocery list, finding things in the grocery store, and reading
the recipe aloud for mom or dad during cooking time.
Stories from around the world. The International Children's Digital Library
(http://en.childrenslibrary.org/ ), an amazing (and growing!) collection of international children's
books available to read online in their original languages. Parents and children can have free
access to exemplary works from more than 42 countries and written in 11 different languages.
Encourage writing: Try an interactive journal. This is where two friends (or a parent and child)
take turns writing to each other. This is especially helpful for children who never know what to
write. A parent might start the journal entry by asking what activities the child is looking forward
to this summer.
Use Technology for Writing Activities:
Storybird – This is a great website where children can be authors and write e-books. The site is
free but requires registration. Children write stories based on beautiful artwork available on the
website. E-books can then be publicly or privately shared online. http://storybird.com/
Emails – Find a friend or relative who will be a reliable penpal and return letters quickly. This is
a great opportunity to get to know a distant cousin or aunt. Email correspondence gives writing a
purpose and won't seem like a chore. A child may need adult help at the beginning of the
summer with the initial contact letter. Send out three or four, to increase the chance that at least
one of the penpals will continue to correspond all summer long. Alternatively, the medium could
be postcards instead of emails.
Be an active citizen. Kids who participate in community service activities gain not only new
skills but self-confidence and self-esteem. Help them zoom into action! Resources from ZOOM
(http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/action/index.html ) can help them get the most out of helping
others this summer.
Active bodies. Active minds. First Lady Michele Obama is leading the national Let's Move
initiative — with the goal of raising a healthier generation of children. Let's Move Outside
(http://www.letsmove.gov/lets-move-outside ) has lots of ideas to help kids get the 60 minutes of
active play they need everyday.
Make cool things. "Dad, dad, dad, can we make a samurai sword?..." Dad Can Do
(http://www.dadcando.com/default.asp ) is a wonderful site full of crafty ideas that bring fathers
and kids together. Make a wizard's wand, paper planes, spaceships, ex libris, and quirky things
like an origami cowboy shirt (think Woody from "Toy Story") — mostly from inexpensive or
recycled materials.
Online activities for families
Explore interactive educational websites together. There are a lot of quality websites for kids.
Here are a few favorites:
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National Geographic Kids: offers great nature videos, activities, games, stories, and more
o http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/
CoolMath4Kids: take a trip through an amusement park of math and more at this
extremely interactive math website
o http://www.coolmath4kids.com/
Smithsonian Kids Collecting: how to start your own collection and see what other kids
collect
o http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/students/idealabs/amazing_collections.html
Explore Dinosaurs: FAQs and top 10 myths about dinosaurs, a virtual dig, behind the
scenes tours, and more from the National Museum of Natural History
o http://paleobiology.si.edu/dinosaurs/index.html
Smithsonian Digging for Answers: a site that tests your research skills and knowledge
o http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/students/ideaLabs/digging_for_answers.ht
ml
NASA Quest: interactive explorations that engage students in real science and
engineering. Topics include robots, helicopters, lunar exploration, and designing your
own human-friendly planet
o http://quest.nasa.gov/
My Wonderful World: a multimedia tour of our seven continents
o http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/mywonderfulworld/
*Summer Fun Ideas are from Reading Rockets (http://www.readingrockets.org/ )