Many kids look forward to the lazy days of summer all year long. While a fun break away from early morning alarm clocks and homework may sound great, it can also present challenges. The changes in routine, lack of structure, and distance from resources offered at school can be tough for many children and families. “Summer slide”, or loss of skills developed in the previous school year, can also be of great concern.
The Educational Development Center noted three great ways to help keep kids on track during the summer and have them better prepared to jump back into learning at the start of the school year.
1. Read every day. After all, reading is a cornerstone for learning. Designating story time, listening to audiobooks, and setting summer reading goals are some ways to keep reading at the forefront of daily life in the summer.
2. Keep counting. Counting and sorting items you use in everyday life and playing cards or board games on a rainy day are great ways to practice math skills and keep things fun.
3. Find something interesting to investigate. Learning to draw, planting a garden, predicting weather, watching the night sky…what topics interest your kids? Help them identify new things to learn about during the break and find ways for them to explore, either virtually or hands-on.
Fortunately, there are many resources in CASA of the River Region’s service area to help kids and families have affordable access to learning opportunities all summer long.
The Cultural Pass offers young people ages 0-21 and their families in the Greater Louisville area access to participate in arts and cultural activities provided by over 50 venues, free of charge, from June 1 through August 6, 2023. Louisville Nature Center, Roots-101 African American Museum, Muhammad Ali Center, Louisville Leopard Percussionists, and StageOne Family Theatre are just a few of the options.
In addition to Summer Reading Programs, Louisville Free Public Libraries and those in Bullitt, Oldham, Shelby, Spencer, Henry and Trimble Counties offer a wide variety of programming for kids of all ages (yes, adults too). You can find Personal Safety Classes, Gamer Hangouts, Yoga Classes, Art Classes and many, many more options by clicking the area above where you live (or serve your CASA kids) and viewing their event calendar.
It may feel like summer just got underway, but at the CASA main office, we are already gearing up for the next school year and collecting back to school supplies for our CASA children. Want to help? You can visit our Amazon Wishlist to select some of our most-needed items and have them delivered directly to CASA so we can get them to our kids in time for back to school!
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