
As the days grow warmer and the sun shines longer, schools often wind down their learning plans. But we all know that learning never stops. Kids may not be in the formal classroom setting, but their learning opportunities continue. So, instead of treating summer break like a break from learning, we can embrace opportunities that present themselves. There are plenty of ways to get creative about summer learning. Here are some ideas to help warm up to new learning during the summer months.
Summer Learning Tips for Parents: general tips for parents, highlighting the importance of keeping kids intellectually stimulated while also suggesting topics and activities to do during the summer months. It provides a quick summary of the research on sustaining academic activities and gives ideas on how to keep kids engaged.
Summer Reading Fun
One of the most popular summer learning activities is reading. Kids get the opportunity to engage with a variety of books and ideas that grab their interest. Competing with video games can be a challenge, but these Scholastic resources are up to meeting it. These resources provide solid strategies and outlets for age-appropriate, summer reading fun.
- Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge
- Summer Reading Tips for Students and Parents
- Teaching Plan to Encourage Summer Reading
- Novels for Growing Readers
Summer Science Exploration

Just because school’s not formally “in session” doesn’t mean that fun science projects aren’t possible. Quite the contrary; whether you’re in the city, suburb or rural setting, kids have wonderfully creative outlets to “get their science on!” The increased hours of sunlight during the summer gives kids countless opportunities to get outside and explore. With great ideas for science experiments you can do at home, suggestions for exploring nature, interactive science history and geography games, and links to summer science camps, these resources provide great ideas for summer science exploration.
- Science Buddies: Find a Science Summer Camp
- Science Activities for All Ages
- Science at Home
- Science Explorer: An Exploratorium-At-Home Book
- Science Buddies: Topic Selection Wizard
- Webrangers
Summer Sun – Health and Safety
That summer sun can be super fun, but we need to ensure that we stay safe. We love to feel the warmth of the sun on our skin, but we all need to remember the importance of protection from too much sun exposure. These resources provide some nice health and safety tips for enjoying the summer sun.