Although school is currently out for summer break, it’s important that students continue to engage in some of form of learning. Students can participate in summer enrichment activities to continue their academics skills, such as working memory, time management and ability to focus. Students will be able to apply their classroom knowledge when participating in these activities. This blog post is a guide to summer enrichment activities that students of all ages and grade levels can engage in with their friends and family.

Summer Enrichment Activities

Book Clubs

Participating in book clubs allows students to continue developing and improving their English and language arts skills, such as critical thinking and character analysis. Make your book club more interactive by pairing the book with its movie interpretation. Students can participate in creative activities such as acting out chapters, altering the ending, and playing charades. Below are some summer reading book suggestions:

• The Maze Runner Series by James Dashner
• Dear Martin by Nic Stone
• The Maltese Falcon by Dashielle Hammett
• Slay by Brittney Morris
• To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• City Spies by James Ponti

Arts & Crafts

Arts and crafts allow for students to be creative and express themselves in an enjoyable way. Below are some arts and craft suggestions to do with friends and family.

• Painting: Grab a canvas or paper and paint to your heart’s desire. There are various YouTube videos on how to paint anything from mountains and waterfalls to outer space. Get creative and paint your masterpiece. There are also inexpensive canvas and painting kits on sites such as Amazon.
• Tie-Dye Shirts: Have fun experimenting with colors and different designs. When you’re finished you can wear them outside to show your artistry!
• Scrapbooking: This summer, take pictures of your adventures. When you’re finished, print the pictures out and include them in a scrapbook. This will help you look back and remember the great experiences you had.

Sports

It’s important to have some form of physical activity every day. Playing sports is a great way to stay healthy and enjoy a fun activity with others. Volleyball, soccer, biking, tennis, and swimming are all great sports to facilitate teamwork, leadership, problem solving, social skills, communication, and relationship building. We also create unforgettable memories with others while playing sports. Remember that safety is important—wear proper attire/protective equipment while playing!

Cooking

Do you love to cook or to eat? Cooking is a fun and great way to interact with others while making delicious food. Everyone has favorite foods/snacks they enjoy, and cooking is one way you can share them with others. Some snacks you can try making are Rice Krispies treats and homemade ice cream. While cooking, try new recipes for food and snacks that you’ve been craving and create your own recipe book. Cooking will help with teaching and maintaining math skills like conversions and multiplication skills. Remember to have a parent or guardian present in the kitchen while you’re cooking!

Cool Math

“Love Math. Hate Math. Need Homework Help? This site’s for you!”
Cool Math is a website full of fun games that incorporate different math skills. This allows students to play games while learning and remembering key math concepts such as addition, multiplication, and factoring. The site included games such as Subtraction Blast, Sudoku and 2048, which is a fun addition game. This site also includes math lessons on topics like pre-algebra and pre-calculus that students can access for additional support.

Music

What’s better than listening to music? How about making your own? The website Music Lab gives users the opportunity to make their own beats using instruments such as strings, bass, and piano, while also changing the tempo. This allows students to use their creative thinking to create a sound that is uniquely their own. Have fun mixing beats, sounds, and instruments and share them to inspire others.

History and Impact

Now more than ever, it’s important to know and understand history. We can use history to help us reflect, problem solve and work toward a better future for everyone. In order to do this, we must look at history through the perspective of other communities, especially those who represent populations with a lack of resources and less access to institutions (such as education and health care) due to disenfranchisement stemming from systemic racism and prejudices. By looking into these communities from a historical aspect, we get a glimpse into their way of life and the value they have in our communities, society, and the world. Additionally, as we begin to gain more historical knowledge about different communities, we can become advocates of change by using our voice and body to promote their wellbeing. Looking at history and its impacts through a new perspective will support students in developing skills like research, critical thinking, processing information, advocacy, and reflecting. Get to know others’ way of life so that we may all cover the world with love, support, and change our future.

This blog post has highlighted different summer enrichment activities that will keep students and their families engaged in academic learning while on break from school. Use these activities as a guide to have a summer full of growth, learning, and fun!

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