Our First Week of Summer Learning

This week’s theme is countries around the world, so on Monday we made our trip to the library and checked out ten books (five each) about various countries. The girls choose which country they want to read about each day and I give a minimum number of pages I want them to read in that book. I made sure to choose books that were close to their reading level and am sure they will probably end up reading the whole book most days.

 

I had them each choose a notebook at the dollar store and we bought those to be their summer notebooks. On the first couple of pages, we will write and draw pictures about our vacation last week.

 

Then, to keep up with their writing skills, I am having them write in their notebook each day. My 8-year-old has to write the name of the country she read about that day at the top of her sheet of paper and then write three sentences on things she learned about that country. My 6-year-old also writes the name of the country on her page then has to find five words to copy from the book (they can be words she couldn’t read or pronounce so that we can practice them together or any words she chooses about the country). We will also use the notebooks to keep a record of our outings and other fun activities we do this summer.

 

For some math review, I write or print out a little math worksheet for them to do or have them practice by themselves with some flashcards. Finally, I picked up some introductory Spanish books with audio cd’s for them to listen to together. Once they finish that, we sit down and look at their notebooks together, then find the countries they read about that day in an atlas and on the globe.

 

We are only just beginning this program, but so far both girls really seem to be enjoying it. Later this week we’ll try to gather some recipes from a few of the countries they’ve read about and make them for supper a couple of nights. I’ll let you know how that goes next week!