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10 Creative Summer Learning Ideas

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Summer is here! Well, I mean, you know, not technically until June 21, but whatever. Although we school mostly year round, we do take about six weeks off starting around the end of May. School is out for my family, therefore it is summer.

We’ve already put our summer learning plans into place, however, if you’re looking for fun, creative summer learning ideas, I’ve got some for you!

10 Creative Summer Learning Ideas

1. Mad Libs. I really love Mad Libs for a low-key, kid-friendly way to practice part of speech. Plus, they’re just fun and great for traveling!

2. Word games. I am so into word games. I typically have a dozen or so Words with Friends games going and just a couple of weeks ago, I bought a word search book to entertain myself while waiting on Megan to get finished at a weekly Bible study meeting. I was a little offended that they were only available in large print, but let’s not discuss that.

Kids can enjoy word games, too. Start a Words with Friends game with your kids (or, you know, just pull out the Scrabble board). There are hundreds of free word search games on Pinterest or you can make your own crosswords.

You might also want to check out these 8 creative ways to encourage writing.

3. Online games. Check out online educational games. Starfall and Sheppard Software have been around since my early days of homeschooling. I also asked the folks on my Facebook page. They suggested:

4. Apps. So many families have tablets now and there are so many apps. The first two are my family’s personal favorites. The others are suggestions from my Facebook followers and many of the websites listed above also have apps.

10 Creative Summer Learning Ideas

5. Build something. What better real-life application for math than building something? Kids can work with angles, measurements, area, perimeter, all while having fun creating something.

6. Nature study. Before it gets too hot, get outside and study nature. Try these nature study ideas If you find interesting rocks while you’re out in nature, consider starting a rock collection.

7. Read. There are a multitude of summer reading programs this time of year. Look around online or check with your local library or bookstore. Don’t be too particular about what your kids are reading this summer (as in, don’t try to make it all serious, educational reading). If your boy is reading up on how to build an amazing Minecraft city (or whatever you do in that game), he is doing exactly what you wanted him to do when you taught him to read; he’s reading to learn.

8. Stargazing. While the nights are warm and sleeping in the next morning is a possibility, get out and enjoy the stars. Stargazing is one of my favorites, but while you can get outside and be messy, try some other fun summer science activities.

9. Travel. If you’re traveling this summer, you’re already set for some prime, in-real-life geography study. You don’t have to make it overtly educational; just being in a new place is a learning opportunity in itself. However, there are plenty of ways to make your summer vacation educational if you feel the need to be more intentional about it.

Even if you can’t travel, there are lots of fun ways to incorporate geography into your summer activities in a fun, low-key way, such as virtual field trips or a simple country study with lots of great books from the library or videos on YouTube.

10. Learn a new skill. Because most family’s schedules are a little more open and flexible during the summer, it can be a great time to learn a new skill. Teach the kids to cook, use the grill, or change the oil in the car. If you’ve got little ones, you could teach them to complete age-appropriate household chores or, you know, how to tie their shoes or use the toilet.

You could also take a fun class together as a family such as a baking/cooking class, a sport (archery, bowling, etc.), or a hobby class (art or photography).

What are some of your favorite creative summer learning ideas?

This post is linked to Top Ten Tuesday and the Hip Homeschool Hop.

images courtesy of depositphotos

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Kris Bales is a newly-retired homeschool mom and the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest founder (and former owner) of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. Kris and her husband of over 30 years are parents to three amazing homeschool grads. They share their home with three dogs, two cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, and seven birds.

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6 Comments

  1. Great ideas! My son (14) is learning to use the chain saw and other tools to bring down about 8 smallish trees. It should be exciting and do our property good. Our (12) daughter is teaching preschool ballet classes from our basement. Both are going to dance intensives. They grow up so fast. I miss the days of bubble and chalk play. However, this is a wonderful stage too.

  2. While nature study is our favorite thing to do on those nice days, rainy days are when we pull out our paints, pastels, markers, etc. I like to buy rolls of paper (tyoically used to wrap mail packages) at the dollar store. We roll it out the length of the table, tape it down, and all work together on painting a mural. So much fun!

  3. Great ideas! I pinned this to my board! We tend to make up fun mini units for the summer just to help us pass the time away when we’re home alone. Summer days can drag on when it’s light for so much of the day and my boys enjoy learning about odd ball non- traditional things. One year we read all about ice cream; the history of it, how it’s made, etc. and made our own ice cream in a bag. Another year we read about bubble and spent weeks making all sorts of bubbles; big ones, small ones, snake bubbles, learning how to hold them in our hands, etc. We often find that summer is the perfect time to paint. We bring them outside and messes are no problem with the lake and a hose nearby.

  4. I like all the ideas you mentioned in this post. Word game is also my favorite. It’s fun and also help me to learn new words. I appreciate the efforts you put in this post.
    Thanks for sharing it.

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