Keep reading and learning throughout the summer with PBS KIDS

Now that summer is in full swing, you may already be tearing your hair out over wondering how to keep your kids entertained and keep their brains from turning into mush. Research does show that students experience significant learning loss when they do not participate in educational activities during the summer months, so I try to maintain an educational focus throughout the summer.  No, they're not doing homework, but I do ask them to read every day and practice their musical instruments, and I encourage them to visit educational online sites like Khan Academy.  Educational TV programs on the Discovery Channel, NatGeo channel and PBS Kids are always allowed!

Speaking of PBS Kids, they are a wonderful resource for educational summer activities.  They have all kinds of downloadable activity guides and printables to help keep your child reading all summer long.  What's really nice is that many of the activities tie in with PBS Kids TV shows that your child already watches and enjoys.  One memorable summer when 3Po and Jammy were 5, I held a Super WHY reading "camp" to help them progress from sounding out 3-letter words to reading 4-letter words and words with consonant blends.  They loved Super WHY, so they had so much fun, and their reading skills really improved!

With the tips and activities found on PBS Kids Parents website, you can easily put together your own "summer camp" at home.  PBS Kids has also partnered with Education.com to provide more resources for DIY home camp activities at www.education.com/read. Your "camp" can go on for multiple weeks, with different themes each week!  If you're at a loss for camp themes, just check your local PBS Kids station, because PBS KIDS is showing episodes from a different PBS Kids TV series each week, all summer long.  Each week has its own theme, so you can tailor your "camp"'s activities to fit the theme:

• DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD – “Let’s Play Outside Week,” July 15
• THE CAT IN THE HAT KNOWS A LOT ABOUT THAT! – “Let’s Get Wet Week,” starting July 22
• ARTHUR – “Sports Week,” starting July 29
• WORDGIRL® – “What’s Up With WordGirl Week,” starting August 5



Disclosure: I did not receive a sample or monetary compensation for this post. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.
Tweet this!