Summer Activities After First Grade
by Vivian Jones-Schmidt
In each of the categories I’ve listed, imaginative play takes the lead. Think about how important imagination is throughout life. Possessing a strong imagination is foundational to new discoveries in science; understanding geometry and higher math; writing stories, poems, and novels; planning a vacation; deciding what to cook for supper; organizing free time. Almost any activity you can think of will be enriched and expanded by using your imagination. But a strong imagination doesn’t just happen. Most of us are born with the ability to develop imagination; but being able to do so is dependent on a supportive environment. Children need time and space. And guess what? They also need time to be “bored.” So please don’t feel that it’s the grownup’s responsibility to entertain the child. When they say they’re “bored,” think of that as a compost time that allows seeds to germinate. Ideas are seeds!
Large Motor Activities
Activities that use those large muscles are so important! Children need to move in order to learn how to control and focus their bodies. Large muscles develop first, and this development is the foundation for the ability to use those small muscles so necessary for academic work. So plan for your child to get outside and move this summer!
Imaginative play with friends
Swimming
Outdoor play: run, jump, hop, skip, climb
Jump-roping
Build a playhouse from: cardboard boxes, sheets, branches
Water play: paint your house with water! Find out what floats and what sinks in a tub or pool
Ride bikes
Roller-skate
Pogo stick
Have daily and weekly chores, not for a monetary allowance but as your child’s contribution to the household. Everybody shares the work!
Hopscotch
Make an obstacle course, inside or outside
Big chalk on the driveway or sidewalk
Paint your house, driveway, or sidewalk with water and a big brush
Plant a small garden in your yard or in a container. It will be your child’s responsibility to care for the plants.
Fine Motor Activities
These are the activities that focus on using and coordinating those small muscles, primarily those in the hand and eye.
Imaginative play with friends
Cooking
Painting with your liquid watercolors, wet on wet, with 1” wide brushes
Drawing with crayons and/or chalk
Cutting with scissors
String games
Clay and/or play-do modeling
Instructional Practice
The skills we’ve focused on this year will be reviewed in Second Grade. But summer is a great time to reinforce those skills in a playful and relaxed way.
Imaginative play with friends
Practice writing letters and numbers correctly, using the templates I’ve sent you this year.
Please reinforce the proper pencil grip and seated posture when your child is writing or drawing.
Write letters to friends and family members
Read: get recommendations from your local library
Parents: read to your child!! Get recommendations from your local library
Counting by ones, twos, threes, fives, and tens.
If you go on a car trip, count the cows or the train cars! Play the alphabet game: “I see an apple tree! I see a bus! I see corn!”
Play board games and card games