Happy Summer!
This school year certainly went by quickly, and the students had many memorable moments. We hope they will find ways to apply their knowledge, whether they are helping with directions, meeting someone from another culture, or figuring change while spending some birthday money.
Over the summer, there are many avenues to maintain your child’s skills from this past year – even to progress his/her knowledge. Reading should be a regular, daily routine, even if it is helping out with recipes at dinner, deciphering a menu when you’re out, or reading directions and street signs. Please use the following websites to cater to your child’s needs:
www.ixl.com – all students could practice work in their grade level and even start looking at what they can attempt at the next grade level and beyond. If your child is feeling a little uncertain about math at his/her grade level, they can revisit a grade level below to build some comfort again and then move forward.
www.mathdrills.com – our continuous message throughout the year has been facts, facts, and more facts! We cannot stress enough how important it is that your child is comfortable with basic math facts. Even complex equations at their level are simply a series of applied math facts. The more quickly they can recall math facts, the faster and more competently they can solve higher level math equations, and the less frustrated they will be with these tasks. Drills can be printed from this website.
www.superteacherworksheets.com – this site offers an amazing assortment of fun math, language, reading comprehension, and science worksheets. Unfortunately, it is not completely free, but there are still options available without paying the annual fee. If you find the website useful, the annual membership is only $19.95.
http://summerbridgeactivities.org — of course, books you can buy in stores are great if you are on the go. Please look for the “bridge” books which transition a child between grades. They will typically indicate which grades are addressed on the cover. The aforementioned website illustrates examples which might help you find the right book in the store. We recommend tearing out only a few of the perforated pages at a time so your child doesn’t feel overwhelmed. These are great activities for plane, car, bus, or train travel, while waiting for meals at a restaurant, etc.
Card games – this year, some of the students began playing games using an adapted deck of cards. All of the face cards are removed and the children play a game like War, with a twist. Instead of one card at a time, each player lays down two or three cards at a time. They add, subtract, multiply, or divide to find who won that hand and so on. For higher grades or more practiced students, the “twos” can be removed from the deck, then the “threes”, etc. It helps if two decks or more are mixed together.
We are going to miss our LED students and families, and we hope everyone has a fantastic summer!