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avoid brain drain? when school gets out for
summer
, i?m just as excited as the
children
are. and despite the extra work and the complicated arrangements required to keep your
children
busy over the next few months, i know how nice it is to have a break from nine months of playing ?homework police.? however, as you sit and look at the long days ahead, you may be concerned about keeping your child?s school skills sharp. what happens if he forgets everything he learned over the course of the school year? how do you keep his learning skills at their peak during
summer
vacation?
reading
is the most important skill to keep up with, and fortunately, it?s also the easiest. the public library offers
summer
reading
programs for younger
children
as well as storytimes. middle and high school students are usually given
summer
reading
lists to complete before school returns. books are portable, which means you can take them along on vacation.
reading
aloud in the car is a good way to not only hone
reading
skills, but also to lessen the number of times you hear ?are we there yet?? to make it more of a game, you can assign magic words. every time the magic word is read, the book is handed over to the person assigned that word, who continues with the
reading
. or, make up your own stories, and get everyone involved by letting each person tell a part of it. whether you go to the beach or the mountains or stay at home this
summer
, science is everywhere. a trip to the library is all it takes to learn about the stars, clouds, shells, trees, or different bugs and birds. math can be emphasized by allowing your
children
to pay for purchases and help you count the change. for older
children
, you might consider letting them help pay a few of the household bills. this has the added benefit of letting your
children
see just how much it costs to support a family. it might even stop the constant pleading for things they don?t need. in the grocery store, even small
children
can be given a list of numbers to match while they help you shop. the
summer
is also a great time to visit museums and learn about artists and historical events. remember, no matter the activity, the idea is for it to be fun and to keep their brains thinking. we can teach them that learning happens everywhere, not just a classroom. have a safe and fun
summer
, stay connected enter to win free goodies and be the first to know what's going on around town at brparents.com the weekender receive the latest news and trends right in your inbox. subscribe at brparents.com facebook facebook.com/ batonrougeparents talk to me amy@brparents.com brpm app download our free app at google play or in the apple app store amy foreman-plaisance publisher/editor in chief in every issue / a m o t h e r ? s v o i c e 12 brparents.com | june 2017
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