Here in Nashville, we’re quickly heading towards, and the end of school is in sight. With the newfound freedom comes the question of what to do with all of the hours in the day and how to get rid of some of the energy. Perhaps your child will attend a summer camp or two and you’re planning a family vacation. That takes care of a few weeks. So, what to do with the rest?
As you develop your summer schedule, I’d like to make an argument for adding math to your list of go-to summer activities. Whether your child will be entering kindergarten next fall or is moving up in the elementary grade level ladder, summer is an important time for math learning.
Research shows that children who talk about math and engage in math activities at home are more likely to be successful in math at school. Research also shows that over the summer, children tend to “lose” some of the math skills they learned during the school year. With these two key findings in mind, playing math games at home over the summer is a great way to prepare your child to be successful in the fall and beyond.
Don’t panic – I’m not saying you should set up a classroom in the playroom and teach a math lesson twice a week. The goal is for your child to enjoy math, not hate it! Here’s what I propose: play a math game a few times a week and incorporate math into your everyday summer activities. As I’ve said before, math is everywhere, including the slip n’ slide, park, and snack time!
Over the summer, my posts will focus on how you can make math part of your summer routine. My goal is to provide you with activities that are easy, fun, include minimal materials, and build important math skills. You have the power to support your child’s math learning this summer!