Summer is finally here and now that the kids have been home a week or so, you might be hearing, “I’m bored!”. You might also be thinking you want to find ways to help your student continue learning over the break and prevent what educators often refer to as “summer slide”–the steps backwards students often take at the start of a new school year when they haven’t utilized the skills and content they’ve learned the previous school year while on summer break. But, fear not, there are many simple things you can do at little to no cost to keep your kiddo active and help ensure they’re ready for school this fall while enjoying the time you have at home with them.
Here are some upcoming summer activities geared toward kids in our community:
- Summer Reading Program at Eugene and Springfield Public Libraries
- Artie the Art Bus
- Summer Camps & Activities through River Road Parks and Rec
- Family-Friendly Events, Kids’ Activities and Kids’ Adventure Club through Eugene, Cascades and Coast
- Summer Camps and Activities for Kids 5-12 through Eugene Rec
- All About Art Summer Camp
- Table Tennis Club at Boys and Girls Club
- Lane County History Museum Exhibit on Toys!
- Lane Art Council’s Summer Art Camps
- Learn to Garden at Hendricks Park
- Science Camp at Eugene Science Center
- Animal Rescue Teaching’s Horse Camp
- Summer Camps at Academic Achievement Center (Arts, LEGO Engineering, Animation, etc.)
- Summer Dance Programs with Ballet Fantastique
- LEGO STEM Camp at Bricks and Mini Figs
- Bounce Fantastic Camps
- Challenge Sports British Soccer Camp
Now that you have resources to utilize, what should you do!? Here’s a list of the key skills from 1st grade that you can focus on to build skills in preparation for 2nd grade:
MATH
- Addition and Subtraction Basic Facts (1-20)
- Count to 120 (both basic and skip counting)
- Understand Place Value of 2-digit Numbers (ones and tens values)
- Measure Length
- Tell and Write Time (to the nearest hour)
- Identify Coins and Associated Values
- Compare and Draw Basic Shapes
READING
- Ask and Answer Questions About Key Details of an Event
- Describe the Characters, Setting and Major Events in a Story
- Identify the Main Idea of a Story
- Retell a Story (using the main events)
- Find Answers to Questions in a Text
- Read Fluently (60 or more words correctly in a minute)