3. Take part in a summer reading challenge.
The summer is the absolute best time to nurture your child’s love of reading. If your child is already a voracious reader, why not help them get rewarded for the piles of library books they’re getting through each week? Most libraries (as well as many other organizations) offer some type of summer reading challenge, often with a unique theme to get kids excited and prizes for reading a certain number of books. This also provides an excellent incentive for children who are less enthusiastic about reading to discover authors and genres that they enjoy.
Summer reading challenges can be especially rewarding when parents take part, too. With older children and teenagers, you could read the same book as your child and then compare reactions when you’ve both finished. With slightly younger children, especially those who are less confident about reading, encourage them to read to you a few times each week, just as you used to read to them when they were little.
4. Do a museum scavenger hunt, or create your own.
Visiting museums, art galleries, and science centers during the summer is a fantastic way to provide educational enrichment outside of the classroom, and these visits can turn into memorable days out for both you and your children. Many museums offer activities for young visitors, including scavenger hunts designed to help children engage more fully with the exhibits. Alternatively, you could create your own museum-based scavenger hunt tailored specifically to your child’s age and interests and provide a fun prize (such as a small item from the museum shop) when they successfully complete it.
5. Encourage creativity through art, music, drama, or writing.
Understandably, as children get older, their experience at school becomes focused on memorizing content, developing skills, and preparing for standardized tests. Unfortunately, this usually means there’s less time for the creative endeavors they enjoyed during elementary school. To rekindle your child’s creativity over the summer, facilitate a creative project before school resumes in the fall.
Depending on your child’s interests, they could write a poem or short story, draw a self-portrait or local landscape, create a dramatic scene, or pen the music and lyrics to an original song. Whatever your child chooses to do, parents can help by providing materials and offering advice and by being a receptive, enthusiastic audience when your child proudly shows off their finished masterpiece.
