Setting Up a Summer Learning Schedule
The following post is from Jennifer, a lifelong educator:
See all of the Homework Helps posts here.
I can hear it now…“A schedule?!? But, Mom, it’s summer!” While some homeschoolers school year-round, most kids aren’t overjoyed about doing school work during vacation, but if you set up a routine that works around their anticipated play times, you’ll encourage cooperation and help your children fine tune their academics over the next couple of months.
source: donkeycart
Doing just 30 minutes of math right after breakfast or lunch works for many people; “tying” the work to a regular meal makes it less likely that you’ll forget. You could break that time into two 15 minute slots, but most children are capable of focusing and working for a 30 minute period. You can find lots of math sites on the internet, or education stores and bookstores can supply you with workbooks, if you prefer that approach.
Unless you are or know a teacher, it can be hard to determine what your child should be working on, so here are some suggestions, based on many states’ Common Core Standard:
If your child is going into 1st grade:
Sort objects into groups
Compare items based on length, weight, and size
Tell time to the nearest hour
Name the days of the week
Write and name numbers to 30
Add and subtract numbers to 10
If your child is going into 2nd grade:
Count, read, and write numbers to 100
Compare numbers using <, >, or =
Count by 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s
Add three one-digit numbers
Name and count coins
Tell time to the hour and half hour (analog and digital)
Read a calendar
Add and subtract numbers up to 20
If your child is going into 3rd grade:
Count, read, and write numbers to 1,000
Do mental addition and subtraction of two-digit numbers
Show multiplication with pictures, counting, and arrays
Recognize and name fractions of ¼, 1/3, and ½.
Measure to the nearest inch and centimeter
Know how many hours have passed from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Recognize, describe and predict patterns
Identify faces, edges and vertices on geometric shapes
If your child is going into 4th grade:
Count, read, write, and round numbers to 10,000
Add and subtract whole numbers to 10,000
Know multiplication tables to 10
Add and subtract simple fractions
Add, subtract, multiply and divide money using decimals
Identify, describe and classify common three-dimensional shapes
Tell whether common events are certain, likely, unlikely or impossible
Estimate to determine if an answer is reasonable
If your child is going into 5th grade:
Read and write number to millions
Order whole numbers and two place decimals
Write a fraction when looking at a divided drawing
Multiply multi-digits by two digit numbers
Divide multi-digits by a one digit number
Determine the area and perimeter of measured shapes
Draw points on a graph (y=3x)
Identify the radius and diameter of a circle
Apply strategies to complex problems
If your child is going into 6th grade:
Round very large and very small numbers
Determine prime factors of numbers to 50
Order decimals, fractions, and positive and negative numbers
Multiply and divide fractions
Evaluate simple algebraic equations
Compute mean, median and mode
Know when and how to break problems into parts
Identify and graph ordered pairs
Compare data sets with fractions and percentages
This is by no means an exhaustive list. With our nation’s increased emphasis on math, the pressure is on for students to solidify their skills early. Thirty minutes a day, five days a week for 10 weeks gives them twenty-five hours of math practice. I believe it’s time well spent!
What do you do to encourage your children to stay sharp with their skills during the summer?
Jennifer is passionate about children and education. She homeschooled her two sons for five years, established and directed a Christian school in Maryland for almost 20 years, and currently teaches in a public school in a Chicago suburb. She loves investing in relationships and delights in every moment that she spends with her family.
Setting Up a Summer Learning Schedule
© 2010-2013 Purple Martin Press, LLC | All rights reserved
