Keeping Children Active and Engaged During the Summer

With the school year coming to a close and the summer months creeping in, chances are families are breathing a sigh of relief and looking forward to the rest and relaxation that summer break usually brings. Often times, it seems the nine months of school are just as taxing on parents as they are on children. Sports schedules, homework and parent-teacher conferences can really take a toll on a family throughout the school year, and many families look forward to the lazy, hazy days of summer to escape the stress and exhaustion of the school year.

At this time, it is important to help families recognize the importance of maintaining a routine throughout the summer months, and it is equally important to help parents understand the need to keep children active and engaged in learning during this time.

According to the American Association of Pediatrics, infants need at least 30 minutes of “tummy time” and other interactive play, spread throughout each day. Kids aged 3-5 need at least 3 hours of physical activity per day, or about 15 minutes every hour they are awake. Kids 6 years and older need 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity on most days of the week.¹

This physical activity doesn’t necessarily need to be structured activity but simply movement. Some tips to help get children away from the screen and moving include:

• Plan ahead. Make sure your child has a convenient time and place to exercise.
• Provide a safe environment. Make sure your child’s equipment and chosen site for the sport or activity are safe. Make sure your child’s clothing is comfortable and appropriate.
• Provide active toys. Young children especially need easy access to balls, jump ropes and other active toys.
• Be a role model. Children who regularly see their parents enjoying sports and physical activity are more likely to do so themselves.²

Parents can also create games to play with their children, such as scavenger hunts. Nature hikes are also a great way for families to get moving together and can also result in a rich learning experience.

Speaking of learning experiences, it is equally as important to engage children in learning throughout the summer months. Encourage parents to continue daily book sharing with their children. All kids do better with structure and routine, therefore, it’s important to keep reading to children throughout the summer months in order to maintain a sense of routine and normalcy.³

Filling summer days with enriching learning experiences may not be as difficult as you think. Here are some ideas provided by La Petite Academy for continuing the learning for young children throughout the coming months:

1. Pretend Play
You can encourage to engage in pretend play through dress-up and make-believe by providing items such as puppets, props, and ideas so that they can pretend play.

How They Learn: Pretend play helps children learn about the world around them. It encourages a growing vocabulary and helps promote social skills. ⁴

2. Draw
Encourage children to draw and scribble by providing the necessary space and tools. Colorful pencils, crayons and markers, plus blank papers of any size and color will help encourage children to scribble, draw, or write. Consider taping butcher paper to any large surface to reinforce gross motor movement as well. If you live in a dry climate, like many FACE families, take your child outside, provide a stick, and encourage drawing in the sand or dirt!

How They Learn: Drawing is the prerequisite to writing; it helps children’s fine motor skills and prepares their understanding of written communication. It also provides a creative outlet. ⁴

3. Music
Sing, dance, and play! Music helps children develop phonemic awareness through rhythm and repetition, which supports early literacy. Plus, it’s fun! Provide musical instruments like bells and drums and make your own marching band. If you don’t have any “musical instruments” in the home, turn some pots and pans upside down and give your child a wooden spoon! Or provide metal spoons for the child to tap together! Don’t forget about the ‘Add a Page Rhymes and Songs’ book that you’ve assembled during personal visits with your parent educator.

How They Learn: Music benefits all learning areas such as language development and helps increase cognition.⁴

4. Active Play
Active play is all about big movement using big muscles in the body – running, skipping, hopping, leapfrog, swinging, kicking a ball, and so forth. All bodies were made to move! Did you know that your preschooler needs 60 minutes of active play a day? So go to a park, play tag in the yard, play hide and seek, or go on that nature hike. Find lots of ways to move, indoors and out. You may have engaged in gross motor activities during your personal visits through activities such as bowling, racquet play and step aerobics.

How They Learn: Research tells us that movement improves our overall brain functions and promotes motor, cognitive, language and social-emotional development.⁴

5. Go Outside
Speaking of moving outside, don’t forget the importance of vitamin D. Kids (and adults) need sunshine and fresh air to maintain healthy bodies. Letting children play outside is one of the best things we can do for their well-being. Some added benefits of playing outside include allowing your child to improve gross motor skills, explore and satisfy their natural curiosity, and learn through the senses…the sounds, sights, smells and textures provided by the outdoors are endless!

How They Learn: Outdoor play develops stronger immune systems, improves one’s mood and improves concentration. It also stimulates the senses and introduces fun early math and science concepts.⁴

6. Busy Bags
Consider assembling “Busy Bags” for car rides, waiting rooms, quiet time, restaurants or any other place your busy child might be expected to sit quietly for a period of time. Busy bags contain thematic, age-appropriate activities for your child to do quietly. For example, a matching-and-building busy bag might include pattern cards and Duplo Blocks or LEGOs. Or you might assemble a sorting bag, containing different toy animal figurines to sort and group, or differently colored small toys to group by color. You can find many busy bag ideas on Pinterest.

How They Learn: Preschool busy bags focus on cognitive development by encouraging building, sorting, matching, sequencing, art, and imagination. Manipulating the small objects in the bags also promotes fine motor skills, which are necessary for writing, using scissors, etc.⁴

7. Manipulatives
Let your child’s hands build dexterity and strength with items that can be manipulated, such as play dough, pipe cleaners, Wikki Stix, lacing cards, tongs and cotton balls, and LEGOs. Set aside an area in your house for manipulative play. Encourage sorting, building, threading, nesting, and identifying. You don’t have to have all of these items out at once either; changing the activities out periodically helps sustain your child’s interest and engagement with manipulatives.

How They Learn: Using manipulatives promotes hand-eye coordination. It allows children to practice and improve fine motor control.⁴

8. Sand and Water
Sand and water play is one of best, least expensive ways for children to learn. Hide letters in the sand to build literacy skills, hide dinosaurs and pretend play paleontologist, or add water to the sand for more exploring and messy mud fun. For older preschoolers, consider providing a small box of sand, such as a shoe box, with a rainbow colored bottom. Have them practice drawing letters or numbers in the sand to reveal a brightly colored letter A or number 4. If you live in the Southwest, the sand may be abundant…the water? Maybe not so much. But you can do so much with sand itself!

How They Learn: Children learn best through play. While playing, they’re developing their imagination, engaging their senses, learning early math and science concepts and building their self-esteem.⁴

9. Books
There is no such thing as too many books. That’s why all FACE families are enrolled in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program. Not all families may otherwise have access to many books, but books are essential in the lives of children for optimal development. It’s well documented that children whose parents read aloud to them are more skilled readers and writers. Reading to your child, even before birth, also builds healthy attachment. So, this summer, consider visiting your local library, read to your child, and keep books a part of your everyday routine. Building a love of books early on will benefit your children long-term.

How They Learn: Reading to children and allowing them to explore books builds vocabulary, develops listening skills, builds background knowledge about the world and enhances creativity. It also promotes healthy attachment between parent and child, which sets the stage for all future relationships and interactions with others.⁴

10. Games
Games, card games or board games, are all wonderful opportunities for learning and developing social skills. Do you have a deck of cards? Then you can play Go Fish and War, two fun learning games for preschoolers. Many preschoolers also love games such as Chutes and Ladders, Memory and Hi Ho Cherry-O. And remember, puzzles can be considered games too.

How They Learn: Many board games build cognition by encouraging problem-solving, counting and other important thinking skills. Engaging in card games, board games and puzzles with your child also promotes social-emotional development by practicing turn-taking, which is not only important for developing social skills but communication as well.⁴

Aren’t you excited about summer now? Look at all you can do to have fun and keep your kids learning. I wonder what your kids will be learning. What will you do first?

¹ https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/fitness/Pages/Making-Fitness-a-Way-of-Life.aspx
² https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/fitness/Pages/Encouraging-Your-Child-to-be-Physically-Active.aspx
³ https://childmind.org/article/strategies-for-a-successful-summer-break/
⁴ https://www.lapetite.com/blog/2013/07/10-ways-to-keep-preschoolers-learning-all-summer/