- Observe nature. Have your youngster put together an outdoor exploration kit. He could fill a shoebox or reusable grocery bag with a magnifying glass for examining bugs, binoculars for gazing at constellations, and a sketch pad and colored pencils for drawing and labeling what he sees. Let him use his kit all summer long in your backyard, at the park, or on hikes.
- Count collections. Encourage your child to gather leaves, nuts, seeds, and other objects from the ground. He’ll practice math skills as he counts, sorts, and graphs his “finds.” He might make a pictograph to compare the number of seeds, nuts, and leaves he collected. Idea: Suggest that he research his discoveries in nature guides and display his collection with facts on index cards. (“A sweetgum ball is the fruit of a sweetgum tree.”)
- Take poetry walks. Go on poetry walks. Your youngster can jot down notes on what he sees, hears, feels, and smells. Perhaps he’ll walk barefoot across damp grass, sniff a patch of honeysuckle, or run his hand over the bark of a tree. Then, he could use his notes to write a poem, such as:
The honeysuckle smells so sweet.
Have a great summer! See you in August!
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