Guest Author - Paula Petrie

One important activity during the summer months is to keep kids in the reading routine. This really does help to keep children's reading skills from backsliding while on vacation. And reading with your kids helps them develop a love of literature. By reading together in the grass you are creating summer memories your child will cherish.

Set aside a time or times each day for reading. You could have one time for reading a novel with your child or taking turns reading out loud, and another time for individual reading.

Find a good spot for reading when the UV index is too high for outdoor play. Possibly reading in a tent or on a hammock. Or pick a quiet time after lunch for the whole family to sit together with individual books to read. Get together in a family room or on a blanket under a tree.

Help your children find novels and authors writing styles that really appeal to them. Then kids are more apt to pick a book up and less concerned about putting it down. Your local library probably offers some type of kids’ summer reading program. These programs usually offer incentives and weekly activities. Regularly planned library trips help you keep a fresh and ready supply of reading material for your children and for yourself.

You could also try some reading and writing games such as, creating a story together. Or have each child keep a journal or diary of summer trips and activities. Kids love to read these the following year.

A couple of ways to keep the times table memorized are math card games in a shady spot on a hot afternoon, or downloadable math video games on the computer. They can offer a relaxing change of pace and kids may not even be aware they are sharpening their skills.

Bill Kring, award winning math teacher, suggests a lemonade stand can offer lessons in planning, organizing, estimating, record keeping, as well as the complicated mathematics of making change. A yard sale, packing for a trip, setting up a tent, or building a backyard fort also require mathematical concepts.

NWREL's Mathematics and Science director Kit Peixotto suggests that observing nature and curiosity are great math and science skills. When your child asks “why,” don’t pretend to know or feel badly if you don’t know the answer. Use this opportunity to show your child how to look for an answer to his question. Ask your child what made him come up with this answer, even if it’s not correct.

Summer is a great time to explore museums and other historical attractions. Take a road trip. Learning and fun can be one and the same.