Summer Learning Articles

As a teacher, one of the things I pay close attention to is how focused each child is during class. This focus is such a great indicator on how well they’ll do in school! I love sharing insights with parents about their child’s behaviors, and many of them appreciate hearing about their child’s ability to concentrate and any tips of improvement.

While there are many factors that contribute to academic success, a child’s ability to sit still, listen, and complete tasks is a key that helps them learn in every subject. It’s all about supporting our little learners on their journey!

When your child is moving into the  2nd grade, the summer time is great to revisit those foundational skills, like decoding, writing complete sentences, and building comprehension. The goal is comfort and confidence not perfection. Students who enter the year already comfortable with these tools are ready for more complex stories and writing tasks. And just like with math, combining online time and hands on activities makes for the most effective progress.

The transition from 1st to 2nd grade is another big step in a child’s education journey. During this time period children  begin moving past simple number recognition and addition to more complex problem solving, place value, and deeper reasoning. Practicing  key math skills over the summer can help students feel confident and ready to engage when school starts. Making the school easier on everyone. 

This article reviews the most essential math skills that are aimed at supporting the transition into 2nd grade and offers engaging resources and hands-on practice ideas you can use at home to keep learning active, fun, and stress free.

Transitioning from kindergarten to 1st grade is a big step, especially in English Language Arts (ELA). It’s the point where children start seeing themselves as readers and writers. I’ve learned from my experience in the classroom that summer can either reinforce a love of literacy or cause key skills to fade.  Recreating a school day at home is not necessary however, a little practice mixed with fun  goes a long way. 

Here are the skills I perceive to be the most important ELA skills to review from kindergarten and a few foundational 1st grade skills you can start exploring. Each skill is paired with engaging Kids Academy resources and fun off-screen ideas that will make learning feel natural and playful.

From my time in the classroom,  I can tell you that math confidence isn’t something that can  just happen overnight. It grows with small moments of success (seen throughout the year), and summer is the ideal time to add in those moments at home. The skills I highlight below are the ones I used to reteach in the first few weeks of 1st grade, so staying sharp on them makes a noticeable difference.

Mastering scissors develops fine motor skills and improves pencil grip while fostering bilateral coordination and engaging both sides of a child's brain simultaneously. This necessary ingredient will help your child tremendously in completing the academic tasks in class. And it’s good to remember that school isn’t just about internalizing knowledge—it’s also about learning to manipulate and produce things! 

In this article, you'll find exciting and safe scissor activities to help preschoolers develop and reinforce this critical ability.

The summer before a child enters kindergarten, many parents often wonder how to prepare their future student for this major milestone of transitioning from home into the classroom. In this article, we’ll talk about key competences that are good to have before entering Kindergarten. 

A day at the beach is a perfect opportunity to use the sand and the sun with your children to engage in hands-on science experiments that are both fun and educational. In this article you will find  engaging and exciting experiments that  kids will love and learn complex concepts in a simple manner, plus a few additional suggestions for the most curious explorers. 

We’re thrilled to announce the launch of a brand-new feature in Talented and Gifted Online: the Toy Box! Now kids can take a break from their lessons to play educational games that review basic math and ELA skills. All games were designed to make the learning process more enjoyable by and effective by allowing children to review foundational skills in a fun and friendly way. Toy Box can be easily accessed online from any device and browser! 

At Kids Academy, we understand how crucial it is that children get a healthy balance of both rest and academic practice to support stress relief while preventing learning loss. This year, Summer Camp 2024 is offering you summer-long access to our Talented and Gifted app as well as Talented and Gifted Online and Kids Academy website resources at a sizzling price that you won’t find the rest of the year!

This way, your little learner can customize their summer learning by utilizing interactive, bite-sized lessons and activities, or take on a more comprehensive course depending on their needs. Read on to find out the details!