Summer Bridge Activities for Children Going Into The 2nd Grade

As a parent it is always exciting to see children progress to another grade. There are a number of summer bridge activities that a child can take part in to make sure they are ready for 2nd grade. These range from direct learning activities such as worksheets or practicing skills online to teaching opportunities in the real world.

Reading is very important to a child's educational development. Reading a book with your child on a daily basis can create enjoyable memories that will foster a lifelong love of learning. Reading helps to build vocabulary and spelling skills as well. Help your child select books from the public library on a weekly basis. Sign up for a summer reading program if your local library has one as well. Make sure your child is involved in the selection process for best results and get some books for yourself to act as a role model for your child.

Math skills are very important for your 2nd grader to be. There's no better place to start than practicing basic math facts. Start with addition and subtraction of small numbers, then practice some multiplication and simple division. There are many places online where you can practice for free or print worksheets. Have your child help make cookies to show them how math is used in daily living. Kids generally love to bake, especially cookies. Another way to teach your child math concepts is by having them add the price of grocery store items on one of your shorter grocery trips. They can use a calculator or teach them to estimate and write down the amounts on a little notebook. Additionally, you can ask your child to help you count money. This is a very important skill that is well worth the effort.

Do you plan summer outings to nature centers or parks? Take this opportunity to learn about trees or plants. Otherwise, consider having your child help you plant a garden. Get some basic books from the library to help your child understand the basics and get them a little gardening gear for fun. Have them keep a little journal over the summer about what they've learned about each activity. Have them draw pictures or make leaf prints. You can even have them store leaf specimens in little baggies that you can staple to the journal pages. Have them journal about vacations too. With just a little planning, it is easy to incorporate learning into nearly any activity.

Suzan Arslan enjoys writing about educational topics. Practice spelling words free online at Home Spelling Words with your own account using your words or importing our first grade spelling words.

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