Summer fun & learning

Our daughter is 6 1/2 & loved kindergarten, but she tells us she's a little anxious about 1st grade. We figure the best way to help her feel comfortable is to keep her learning skills honed, & have some fun in the process, of course!

I was contacted by Scholastic Home Book Clubs several months ago about a Phonics Reading Program. When it came via UPS we told our daughter what it was & she immediately became enthusiastic about reading the books & completing the workbook activities. She still had about a month of school left at the time, & her anticipation grew every time she saw the brightly colored set as she waited for summer vacation so she could start reading her new books. Now we try to set aside time for her to read one book & do the accompanying worksheets each day. It's extra special because we make it a "Mom & Me" time - she gets one-on-one time w/ me.

Another thing that she's really latched onto is teaching us. Her kindergarten teacher sent unfinished materials home at the end of the school year, i.e., math workbooks, etc. Our daughter loves to use those items to "teach" us. She sometimes makes up student names for us & she really gets into the role-playing, which is another great learning activity itself.

Our daughter also likes to write. So I gave her an old notebook of mine & told her she can journal about any part of her summer vacation that she would like to remember years from now. She LOVES to set up the stories & even illustrate or tape a picture in for each one. Her favorite part is to bring the notebook to us & have us read it "like a real book."

The key in all of these things is finding something that the child likes to do & focusing on the fun factor of the activity. Kids have a great capacity for learning & almost any activity can be a learning experience.