Summer is my favorite time for teaching. Despite my enjoyment and appreciation of every lesson that I teach during the school year. For me summertime is a refreshing breeze during our scorching hot +100 F days in Sacramento, CA.
For the last five years, I have been part of different Summer Camp programs for kids 3 to 13 years old near my area. Everything started at Lifetime Athletic Club in Folsom, CA. This beautiful club allowed me to use my set of skills and share it with the kiddos at the "Kids Academy"- Place dedicated to promoting healthy lifestyle programs for kids (a super cool place for any kid). Lifetime training, support, guidance, and my experience teaching Spanish in the Eureka Union School District have allowed me to enjoy the summers even more. This is because it is the right time to have fun while still learning. So here we are...
Jumping into SUMMER LEARNING
1-Practice calming techniques
In the last couple of years, I have found that the rapid change and the usage of rapidly evolving technologies around the globe are affecting our quality of life. This is also being reflected in the kiddos. I love changes and working remotely or hybrid has made me seek other activities that calm my brain, body, and soul. Adding meditation, yoga, and even simple breathing exercises to my students' weekly schedule has helped them relax and prepared them mentally to begin anew.
2-MOVEMENT
Working with young students has shown me how much energy they have. Therefore, I love including cardiovascular exercises in my lessons. Movement is a healthy way to release stress and support heart health. Sports skills, dancing, and even juggling worked wonders in my group classes - you will be impressed with how much the kids love doing this.
3-Art Projects
Art projects are helpful to support a more interactive approach to learning. Mostly, all my students enjoy creating crafts. If you have tried this in the past and have not been successful don't worry, you have many different art options to try in your class. Some will require more preparation than others depending on your age group but the values that come from this type of project are the most valuable. Whether it's drawing or painting, art is always a meaningful way to express feelings and even emotions.
4-worksheets
I have kept this one from my all' repertoire. Nowadays, there are so many updated resources online to support your lessons. Students can learn while simultaneously being entertained with educational content. A site that I am part of and highly recommend is www.teacherspayteahcers.com. This site has a wide variety of topics from math to world languages and contains high-quality content for several grades.
5-Interactive games
Okay, I'm leaving my top choice to the end. Yes, interactive games are the big highlight of my summer. There are many ways to include this into your teaching, especially in the summer. Students are coming from a school year full of content and things to memorize. As we all know, the brain feeds from learning so... mixing learning with fun interactive games is still learning? Sure, it is! And the one your students are most likely to be asking for the next day. My favorite way to use my content is to adapt it to simple games like jumping rope, around the world, matching games, and so on.
My conclusion
There may be many other options to keep your students entertained during the summer. But the most important thing is to listen to your student's thoughts. Expose them to different motor learning activities and ask them what they would like to see more of or do during class- it's super useful. Doing this type of fun activity helps to promote motivation among your students and the content will stick more effectively. Please let me know what your thoughts are on this topic and if you use any other successful teaching methods. Leave a comment.
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