While summer is a time for children to enjoy friends, family and the great outdoors, it doesn't mean parents can't encourage children of any age to keep their literacy and numeracy skills sharp. With the summer break approaching the half-way point, here are some quick tips and resources to get your child learning (even if they don't know it).
Literacy
Whether your child is a pre-reader or devouring young adult novels, reading provides kids with a wide range if ideas, views and experiences, while also building vocabulary, knowledge, a sense of story and awareness of letters and numbers.
Read to Your Child. For pre-readers and early readers, there is “no app to replace your lap." Reading to your child or having your early reader read to you is wonderful way to unwind and enjoy some family time.
Visit a Library. For intermediate and advanced readers, help them find a new book or book series or add to their collection by taking them to a library or bookstore.
Share a Favourite Book. Consider sharing your favourite age-appropriate book with your child. Take the time to talk about a particular storyline. Remember that talking about stories and describing the pictures helps to build language and literacy skills, while helping children learn about themselves and others.
Start a Book Club. Encourage your older child to start or take part in a book club. It's a great way to socialize and celebrate reading.
Discover Books and Literacy Resources Online. Check out the following online literacy resources:
| Tumble Book Library – An animated picture book collection with narration for online reading. Children can take quizzes to test their knowledge. Grades K-6.
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| Teen
Book Cloud – An online collection
of ebooks, enhanced novels, graphic novels, videos, and audiobooks. Access
for all Division Schools. Grades 6-12.
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| Tumble
Biblio Enfants – A collection of French
ebooks with animation and narration. Grades K-6.
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| Campus
(National Film Board) – Campus video streaming French language content. Various
grades.
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| Idéllo
(TFO) – French language educational and certified content for students,
parents and educators. Various grades.
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Numeracy
Math helps kids build confidence and make sense of the world around them. Younger children can develop numerical awareness through fun and practical activities. Older children can benefit from complex games and zero in on grade-specific math skills in the resource section below.
Count and Sort. For younger children, developing counting skills is fundamental to understanding number concepts. Use your fingers, objects or structures around the house to count, stop, and continue counting. Sorting is a great way to notice and talk about similarities and differences. (If you ever needed an excuse to have your children help you sort the laundry, this is it).
Get Cooking. Have your child help you measure ingredients in the kitchen. It's a fun and delicious way to explore measurement, where food comes from, and understand healthy choices.
Build and Play. Encourage busy kids to build objects to help develop their skills in problem-solving, geometry and spatial relations, or play to develop math concepts and vocabulary.
Roll the Dice. Board games and card games are a great way to build a bit of math into a lazy summer. Not only do children develop counting skills, but they also hone mental math abilities while learning to follow complex instructions. It's also a great way to socialize.
Find Numeracy Resources Online. Check out the following additional numeracy resources below that target specific grades and math skills.
| TumbleMath – A collection of math picture books with animation and narration. Select
books focusing on addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions,
telling time, and more. Children can take quizzes to test their knowledge. Access
for Elementary Schools only. Grades K to 5.
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| Numeracy Learning at Home Newsletters (Province of Manitoba) – Each newsletter offers engaging activities to support learning in math specific to provincial curriculum. Grades K to 9.
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