Teaching Tuesday: More Summer Notebook Ideas

About a month ago, I posted about helping kids learn over the summer through summer notebooks. I actually remembered that I promised to include more ideas later in the summer, which, if you know me at all, is kind of a miracle. Half the time I can't even remember to set up reminders on my phone the right way.

Anyway, not only did I remember that I was supposed to do it, I am actually doing it. I just hope you find it helpful.

1. Have them make acrostic poems with their names or other special words (let them use a dictionary):
For example:
     Joky
   Energetic
   Noisy

2. Have them make a graph of a bag of M&Ms or Skittles, showing how many colors there are of each candy.

3. Have them calculate the money needed to start a lemonade stand (how much to buy lemonade, how much to "rent" a table from you, how much to make posters) as well as how much they'll make if they sell 10 cups for $.25 and $.50.

4. Have younger kids copy a picture you make from simple shapes, like a snowman and a train.

5. Hand over some old coupons or the Sunday supplement, give kids an imaginary budget and let them figure out a grocery list. This would also work with toy or clothing catalogs, as long as your kiddo was fine with the "imaginary" part.

6. Have older kids turn a short scene from a book into a short play, with appropriate stage directions and dialogue.

7. Have them use index cards to make their own math flash cards, with answers on the back.

8. Have them create a board game about a specific topic, such as Harry Potter, addition facts or dinosaurs. They can write the directions in their summer notebook, then use poster board and index cards to make the actual game.

9. Have them write a persuasive letter to get you to change your mind about a family rule or habit; Ironflower's is about why she should be able to get her ears pierced.

10. Have them write haiku (17 syllables - 1 line of 5, 1 of 7 and 1 of 5) about their favorite summer activities.