Normally when school is finally out for summer, my attitude towards routines, schedules and learning goals is SEE YA LATER!!! I usually look forward to a relaxed vibe with nothing on our calendar except chilling and resting and doing whatever we want (it feels like MY summer break too, because we do part-time homeschool, ha! HERE is more about our school.). HOWEVER… With the strangeness of the past few months of being home nonstop, the approaching summer feels more like a black abyss opening in front of my feet rather than the regular summer vibes. If you’re feeling a bit like me, here are a few sneaky summer summer learning activities for kids that could be helpful in passing the summer free time…and sneaking in some learning, too. 😉

SUMMER BRAIN QUEST: Our girls love these activity books, and I like that the bridge the gap between grades during the summer. The activities are not overwhelming and they keep their attention, plus the kids earn stickers to place on a pathway map in the back of the book as rewards for completing each level! Check them out HERE.

LITERATI BOOK CLUB: We have memberships for each daughter, and once a quarter, they get a new box of books customized for their age range. It’s like happy mail for kids! You keep only the books you like, and you can send the rest back. The book prices are similar to or lower than Amazon.

ABCmouse GAMES: The girls have used this app for years, and it’s jam packed with learning games, videos and activities based on their age level. It says its best for ages 2-8, but my 10 year old still loves it bc you can earn tickets for completing games. The tickets can be used to buy items in the virtual store, so it teaches about budgeting and spending vs. saving, too!

OSMO SYSTEM: This cool system utilizes a tablet plus drawing board and camera to create hands on learning experiences for a wide range of ages. Kids draw a picture and then the Osmo device puts that picture into a story within the app, and our girls think that’s the coolest thing to see their art up on the tablet! Lots of different systems to choose from like art, detective work, etc.

MEL SCIENCE + KIWICO CRATES: These are a couple more cool subscription services that provide sneaky summer learning activities for kids, and they keep the girls entertained, too. Packed with STEM and STEAM activities, there’s something new every time the mail brings them a box!

GAMES + CRAFTS: Things like UNO, Scrabble, non-drying clay and Race Across the USA teach things like numbers, colors, hand-eye coordination, art, spelling and geography in a sneaky way…the kids don’t even realize just how much they are learning while just having fun!

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Hope these ideas are helpful as you guys get ready for summer after a weird at-home end of this school year. I don’t really want to overschedule ourselves or implement some sort of rigid summer curriculum or ANYthing like that. I’m just trying to get a bit of a game plan as to how we’re going to continue being at home without going crazy, ha! These sneaky summer learning activities for kids might just do the trick! Are you guys out of school yet? Any others I should add to the list?
❤️ERIN