An On The Go Summer: Ideas to Keep Learning Easy, Fun & Fresh

Summer is busy in the best way! Practice, pool, play-dates and plenty of perspiration. No one wants to take learning on the go... or do they...

Learning on the go doesn't have to feel like learning. Let's jump into some ideas:

1. Keep books in the car. You know that pocket on the back of a lot of seats? Put books in there. (And a puke bag - I literally bought them in bulk off Amazon because I have 4 kids ... books and puke bags in that handy dandy pocket.) We haven't gone yet, because like I mentioned, summer has been extremely busy so far, but the library is a great resource for your kids to pick out books they actually want to read with no price tag involved. Or those cute little libraries that are in front of schools, businesses and in some neighborhoods, you can swap the books your kids are tired of and get new ones!
2. Go to the dollar store. Remember when I told you that I quit my job to be more available for my family and to run this business full time with Erin? Yeah, we're going to the dollar store now. It actually has a great section of educational materials. Be careful though. It turns out that not all dollar stores are actually cheap. Some are parading as a good deal in name only and then you get there and everything is insanely priced and you have to walk out with 4 disappointed kids. That's downright awful.
3. Play word games! Stick with me here because I've got some information to give you before we can get into the games.

Phonological awareness is an umbrella term for being able to hear sounds in words. There are many skills that a child should master under phonological awareness: rhyming, alliteration, syllable segmenting, sound segmenting and the ability to identify, change and delete sounds in words. Phonological awareness is a major player in reading success. We can make it feel like a game, but it’s actually the foundation needed for reading.

Skill 1: Rhyming

I can't tell you how many silly songs we've listened to in the car, but being able to rhyme matters. Candy Cane Jane anyone? Not into songs? No problem. Find things as you drive to rhyme with. "I spy with my little eye, something that rhymes with grass." "Gas!"

Skill 2: Alliteration

This is one of my favorites! There’s nothing better than a great alliteration. Here’s an oldie, but a goodie, “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.” (I didn't know what a 'peck' was so I just looked it up for us: 1 quarter of a bushel, or about 2 gallons) They don’t have to be that complicated though. You can look for alliterations all around you: big business building, fantastic field of flowers, sunny skies on Saturday. You can ask your child what sound they hear that’s the same, or take turns coming up with alliterations.

Skill 3: Syllable & Sound Segmenting

Syllable Chop is a fun game with a little bit of movement thrown in. You can go either way with this one. You say a word like, “bottle” and your child chops it into syllables, “bot – (chopping motion) – tle”. Or go the other way around and you segment the word and have your child put it back together. For a more challenging task, you can play the same game with individual sounds instead of syllables.

Skill 4: Phonemic Awareness

These are the more complex tasks under the phonological awareness umbrella. Phonemic awareness is the ability to identify, change and delete sounds in words. Strong phonemic awareness is one of the best predictors for later reading success. It’s important.

Say a word and have your child change or take away a sound.

➡️ Change: “Say dog. (dog) Now say dog, but instead of /d/ say /j/. (jog)

Change Challenge: "Say stop. (stop) Now say stop, but instead of /t/ say /l/. (slop)

➡️ Take Away: “Say fall. (fall) Now say fall, but don’t say /f/. (all)

Take Away Challenge: "Say quilt. (quilt) Now say quilt, but don't say /l/. (quit)

You can change or take away any part of a word, but some are harder than others so it will take practice.

4. Take the placement assessment on our website and you can let us do some of the work for you.  The LIFT OFF! to Literacy Reading Program is an awesome on-the-go option to keep your child learning this summer! To get to the assessment, click HERE.

This was a really long-winded way of saying that you can make learning feel easy and fun, not only for your child, but for you, because that matters too.

If you haven't had a chance to read our Summer Slide Guide, you should. It has even more ideas on easy ways to keep learning fun. It also has a "Must Do, May Do" printable that has totally changed the way we run our days. Game. Changer.

Click HERE to get your free copy.

Happy Reading!

- Erin & Kally