Summer Learning Articles

As your child prepares to transition from second to third grade, it’s important to remember that there are many things that you can do at home to set them up for success in math. While many skills will be taught explicitly by your child’s teacher during the school year, there are important prerequisite skills that will give them a step up to starting third grade.

Entering kindergarten is an exciting milestone for both families and kids. Because it is seen as the first official year of formal schooling, the transition may seem a bit daunting. Even for children who attended preschool, kindergarten will feel different due to an increased focus on academics rather than just exploration and play. While preschoolers generally prepare through songs, read-alouds, and learning basic soft skills to manage behavior, there are specific early literacy skills they can strengthen to help them feel more confident and prepared.

Elementary teacher Alison Carter gives advice on choosing the best summer camp for your child. It includes tips on camp types, costs, duration, inclusivity, activities, and other features to consider for an optimal combination of your child's leasure, learning and development during summertime.

As your child prepares to enter kindergarten, it’s important to remember that there are many things that you can do at home to set them up for success in math. While many skills will be taught explicitly by your child’s teacher during the school year, there are important prerequisite skills that will give them a step up to starting kindergarten.

In this article, we’re covering all the math skills your child can master to be 100% ready for school. You’ll also find links to free learning resources that will help you in preparing your child for kindergarten math.

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.