Ever since my kids started school, I’ve wanted them to read more during the summer. Yet one thing always led to another and before I knew it summer was over and we hadn’t make a dent in our reading list. 

Well, this summer I decided to get serious about it. With a few minor changes to our routine, I found that it was possible to reach our reading goals. 

I also discovered that learning while experiencing the outdoors is a great way to keep the young ones captivated. Here are a few fun activities to keep kids engaged in learning while school is out.

Read in the morning

I started off the summer by dedicating a half hour of reading after breakfast. My fourth grader relaxed on the couch while reading one or two chapters. By giving him the goal of a certain page number I found he spent more time reading and less time daydreaming.

I sat at the kitchen table with my daughter as she read out loud to me.

We also took advantage of the summer reading program at the Calabasas Library.

Making politics fun

Another fun activity was to cut out photographs of important political leaders from newspapers and magazines. 

I taped them on a large poster board so they could lift up the flaps to see the name and title of each person underneath.  

Then I would quiz the kids throughout the day. I knew it was working when my daughter recognized Michelle Obama on an episode of Sesame Street.

Rock collecting

My kids always bring treasures home from the beach, and last week I decided to turn my daughter’s rock collection into a learning activity. 

We separated the rocks by size then talked about the different types. 

I had her think up five questions she was curious about, and then we research the answers together. We ended the day by displaying her favorite rocks in a special homemade box.

Go for a walk

Taking the kids hiking was an enjoyable way to start a discussion about nature.

We talked about the different trees, discussed how the mountains got there and looked for animal tracks in the mud. The highlight of our day was seeing a mule deer.