School is out and students everywhere are excited! It’s time for travel, sun, fun and everyone is hoping for a great vacation; but, what about the summer learning gap?

Parents and teachers alike know when the formal learning of the classroom and school takes a pause students might lose about 1 month of academic growth and development.

Summer time can be learning time and actually close the gap moving kids further ahead instead of creating a loss of academic skills.

So keeping that in mind, you will want to plan a family vacation that is both fun and educational; providing opportunities for your child to continue learning during the family vacation this summer. To make the trip an easy and enjoyable experience for kids and parents alike!

 

Take books along on the trip……

For very young children offer board books, they are the best books for babies and toddlers.

Board books were created especially for the youngest learners, babies and toddlers. These books are made so they can survive the wear, tear and rough handling of very young children in almost any setting you might think of. Young children learn with their hands and mouths. Board books give babies and toddlers the opportunity see and enjoy an experience with a book without parents having to worry about what happens to the book … these books are as tough as toddlers and inquisitive babies are busy. Board books are great because stories are short and simple and told with few words through pictures and colors. The stories also connect to the everyday experiences of a young child’s world. What else is great about board books? It’s the thick pages allowing young hands to easily turn pages and see pictures. Parents can join the reading experience and have a great time talking about and making connections to the pictures with your child. They will be especially happy to sit close and share a great book.

For pre-readers as well as children of any age wordless picture books are a great idea and new way to explore books.

Most people think that wordless books are just for the very young, but books without words open a treasure chest of ways to bring literacy skills into your —-experience. Why? Because they are great for conversation! What better way for family bonding than conversation?

Wordless books can promote more discussion than books with words because the reader is creating dialogue as he/she reads. This leads to better comprehension because the reader is constantly making connections to the book, and to personal life experiences. These connections are the links to comprehension. Wordless picture books also provide an opportunity for the reader to apply vocabulary (word knowledge and meaning) as they create a dialogue while reading. One skill that will not go untapped is the art of storytelling as scenarios are described and explained. Once a book is done the children will love to illustrate and write their feelings about the book. Wordless picture books provide so many opportunities to practice good writing skills.

• For pre schoolerspre-readers, wordless books give them the opportunity to actually read and understand a book all by themselves. Children also love to talk about what they think the people in the story are doing and saying.

• Children who are emerging and beginning to read, ‘picture read’ the story using their own words. Readers at this reading level are learning to understand that pictures carry meaning and tell a story. Your child will enjoy writing the story based on their own words. Be sure to ask them to explain and tell the story page by page. This is a great way to help your child understand that there is a connection between writing, and reading.
• Fluent or Independent readers, are able to easily tell and write an story unfolding as they follow the story line told by the pictures. They comprehend the main idea or theme and can tell a great story with details about the setting, characters and plot which helps develop their writing and storytelling skills.
• Mature or adult readers, enjoy these books for may of the same reasons fluent readers do; the opportunity to create the story and tell the story to a listener – no better opportunity for family bonding through discussion than the opportunities wordless picture books can create.

There are many ways of using wordless picture books with your child and each method will help to develop different literacy skills.

Books for “Read-Aloud” (Trade books and chapter books) These are the books with great stories, readers of every age from your babies to your college”kids” will enjoy listening to and discussing a great story. Never miss an opportunity to read aloud to a loved one!A Google search will offer a long list of books as well as provide additional information about the benefit of delving into all kinds of books for readers at every stage of reading.

Plane, train, bus, boat or the family car or even the beach; books help to make a family vacation a special time for joyful conversation and family bonding.
 

One of my all-time favorites Louella Mae, She’s Runs Away!

by Karen Beaumont Alarcón, Rosanne Litzinger (Illustrations)

This book pulls the reader into the suspense of a search for Louella Mae. In the book a farm family searches everywhere for her. The book is great for family laughs and conversation. Perfect for a read-aloud as well as for readers from three to twenty-three. And the surprise at the end of the book will leave you laughing and talking for days. It’s simply unforgettable!!!

A few things to make the trip fun and easy to enjoy a reading experience:

1. Take along your electronic toys, especially for your older kids

2. Pack plenty of snacks

3. Provide lots of travel Games and activities

Suggestions for games, brain teasers and activities

• I spy games
• Tic-Tac-Toe
• Create a picture and word travel journal
• Road Words from signs, buildings, cars along the road
• Word search
• Hangman
• Dots –to-boxes
• Activity books

Another Brain teaser that may be new is Hinky Pinky

Hinky Pinky (Kids ages about 10 years and up enjoy this activity best.

Activity Description

There’s nothing better than a brain booster! Hinky Pinky is a word puzzle that uses two-word clues that lead to a rhyming solution by solving riddles. This activity helps kids expand their vocabulary, practice rhyming skills, and discover how much fun wordplay can be.

This activity reinforces literacy skills by getting children to think creatively about language. When children create or solve a Hinky Pinky it pushes their thinking to a higher order creative thinking level.

Be sure you explain before you begin; remember to give examples to get kids thinking.

Examples

HP Clue: over weight kitty —– answer: fat cat

HP Clue: moving pork —-answer: piggly wiggly

HP Clue: unhappy farther —-answer: sad dad

HP Clue: angry boy —–answer: mad lad

Suggested things you might want to have on hand…

You will need to have some tools on hand to make game-playing easier and support reading and writing in any situation. Here are just some of the things you’ll need:

Pen

Pencil

Pencil sharpener

Paper

Crayons

Coloring books

Activity books

Tray table

Stop watch

Binoculars

Magnifying glass

A flashlight

Map

Atlas

Dictionary

Thesaurus

Clip board,

Magic slate,

Dry erase board

Lap board

ipad

Safety first!!!

Remember to keep in mind that your kids are always under your care or the care and supervision of a responsible adult. Remember, you’re in a moving vehicle and any pointed object can be dangerous.

Know More

Google Family education to see a wealth of information, ideas, activities and suggestions for keeping kids entertained and happy as they use their knowledge and literacy skills during your travels.

Author:  Marjorie Roberts is a literacy specialist working in the Atlanta, Georgia area. Her tips and suggestions help children learn all year and connect with family. For more information contact her at:  msrorc@aol.com

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