Summer Writing Tips for Kids

We’re in the midst of summer vacation. You don’t need me to remind you of the obvious – if they don’t keep their minds active in summer, children are at risk of losing much of what they’ve learned during the school year. There’s a ton of research, and our own experience and common sense tell us that’s true. Check out the National Center for Summer Learning at the Johns Hopkins University for some of the best, most recent research as well as excellent tips for keeping kids’ minds active during the summer (www.summerlearning.org). I’ve done some work with these folks. They’re top notch.



Research tells us that summer brain drain is even worse for children from homes where
• There’s not much reading, conversation, and quality time with parents or other significant adults
• There isn’t access to books, magazines, and other entertaining reading materials
• There aren’t role models to show how lifelong learning is important to children and adults alike
• Parents don’t actively value learning, and in some sad cases (for which the parents should be beaten with wet noodles), where it’s actively disparaged
• Summer is filled with boredom, passive time-fillers, and little intellectual stimulation
In the past few weeks, the Dr. Rick Blog has focused on summer activities for kids (summer learning, summer camp, and summer reading ).

Today I’ll provide some tips for summer writing activities. In the next few blogs, I’ll give tips on summer vocabulary, spelling, math, and reading tips. As always, we enjoy hearing your ideas. Share them with us by clicking on “Comments” below.

Summer writing can be fun, expressive, and skill-building (but you don’t need to tell the kids that). Give your child the confidence to be ready for school in the fall, and help her teacher get right down to business without spending precious time reviewing skills kids have forgotten in the summer.

Here are some ideas to keep your kids writing this summer.
1. Collect interesting, amusing, thought-provoking summer pictures from magazines, the Internet, or your own family albums. “Prompt” your children with ideas about writing.
a. What’s your favorite summer memory?
b. Write a poem about summer fun.
c. How do you think people kept cool before air conditioning?
d. Pretend you lived 100 years ago. What’s summer vacation like for you?
2. Interview older friends and relatives about their summer memories. (They’ll love talking about this.) Then write a short description or story. Together come up with a list of questions for these interviews.
3. Write jokes about summer activities like the pool, vacation, games, pastimes, etc.
4. Keep a family photo journal and have the children write captions for the pictures or a short story summary. A variation of this is to keep a summer scrapbook with pictures and memorabilia of your favorite things.
5. Keep a personal or family “summer things I notice” journal. Every once in a while, everyone in the family contributes a short piece of descriptive writing, a drawing, a favorite poem or an original one, favorite memories, interesting observations, etc. Watch the journal grow.
6. Yes, even in an electronic age, kids love getting letters in the mail. Help your child have a pen-pal and keep up a correspondence for the summer and beyond.
7. Go to www.bookadventure.com for cool reading ideas, and then write about the books and stories you’ve read together. Don’t call this a “book report,” even if that’s what it really is.
8. Create a story with friends and family members as characters.
9. Write review of the programs your family watches on TV, the movies you attend, the books you read, the trip to the amusement park or any other activity.
10. Compare and contrast summer where you live to summer in other parts of the world or the U.S.

You certainly don’t have to tell the kids that you’re helping them keep up their language arts skills, motivating an interest in geography or family history, or even encouraging a lifelong hobby. You’re just helping them have fun over the summer, right?

Fighting Summer Learning Loss

The stats and research have been loud and clear for several years now – and our common sense tells us also: Kids can lose much of their learning during the summer if their minds are not engaged. Some experts tell us that learning loss can be as much as two to three months. Any teacher can tell you he or she must spend quite a bit of time in September re-teaching material – math skills, reading strategies, history facts, writing rules, spelling techniques – that students have lost over the summer. One of the nation’s most valuable organizations, the Johns Hopkins Center for Summer Learning, warns of the summer losses that unchallenged kids can suffer.

There are lots of things we can do for our kids during the summer:
1. You’re in change. Yes, summer is a time for relaxation, for hobbies, for fun. But that doesn’t mean you want your kids’ minds to be turned off, or worse, turned to mush from too much staring at electronic screens. It’s okay for you to insist that they read occasionally, learn something new, keep up their math skills in fun ways, and maybe even write a post card or two.
2. Keep them reading. The world is full of interesting topics, and kids can read about them in books, magazines, online sites, and other outlets. The great thing about the summer is they can read about topics that interest them, without the pressure of a test.
3. Keep them learning. Summer learning should be fun. Allow kids to learn about the things they don’t always get a chance to study during the school year. Encourage them to discover new interests and talents and to share these new interests with you. Be enthusiastic and supportive.
4. Keep them counting. Math skills are important no matter what the season. Have the kids help you shop for groceries by looking for good deals. Plan for the family get-away by helping you map various routes – the shortest, the most scenic, the one that includes everyone’s favorite sites. Figure out tips at restaurants. Measure for a garden. Save a certain percentage of allowance.
5. Keep them writing. As a family, keep a summer journal. Have everyone write a few lines each day about important and not-so-important events. The weather, the rainfall, the consecutive sunny days, the growth rate of the tomato plants. Favorite movies, TV shows, sporting events. People you’ve visited or who have visited you. Neighborhood news and events. New friends. School plans for next year.
6. Get plenty of exercise. Summer is a time for outdoor activity. Encourage kids to be outside often (remember the sunscreen), to play actively, to include their little brothers and sisters, and to stay healthy.
7. Relax the school-year routines. You know I’m a strong advocate for routines, especially during the school year. Homework, study, bedtime, playtime, family time, quiet time, attendance at religious services are all important routines that put structure and reliability in kids’ lives. These routines can be relaxed during the summer, but kids still need the safety and comfort of routines. Let your family decide which routines are able to be relaxed.
8. Be a good role model. Let the kids see you living your values. Show how you read for information and for pleasure, write for business or social purposes, and use your math skills when you pay bills or follow a recipe. Enlist their help – even when you don’t need it – to give them opportunities to practice or show off their skills.
9. Have family get-togethers. Kids love spending time with you. Make time in the family’s schedule for regular dinners together, game nights, back-yard fun, and informal times for relaxed conversations. Remember talking and listening?
10. Talk about school. Every once in a while talk about goals for next school year, especially if your child is making a transition to middle or high school. Or if he or she had had some challenges this year. Or if he or she has some personal goals that require your support and enthusiasm.