During summer break, many students have learning as the last thing on their mind. But even as they prepare to have lots of fun and mischief with their friends, it is important that you include some educational activities so they don’t forget what they learnt during the school year.
Here are some activities you can use to keep your children physically busy and mentally active during the long summer days:
Anagram challenge
For this game, you’ll need lots of letter tiles (such as those from Scrabble). The children can make their own by cutting small pieces of card with letters written or printed on one side.
Depending on the number of players, you can divide the children into teams. Choose a collection of words for the challenge – preferably with a theme – that you believe each team can unscramble. For instance:
- Theme: farmyard animals – Words: cow, cat, dog, chicken, goose, etc.
- Theme: continents – Words: America, Asia, Europe, Africa, etc.
Then give each team (or player) a stack of letters that will form the words from your theme with a hint. The first team (or player) to unscramble their words wins.
Battleships
This is a fun game that can help foster logic and deductive skills while practising coordinates. You can print a version of the game online.
Each player needs a pencil and copy of the Battleships game. Basically, the top grid is for “your ships” while the bottom grid is where other players position their ships.
To play, you position your fleet (comprises one aircraft, one cruiser, one battleship, two submarines, and two destroyers) anywhere in your grid. Each type of ship moves a different number of boxes in the grid – horizontally or vertically (not diagonally). Also, you can’t have two ships on the same square.
When placing a ship, look at the number of boxes covered (indicated on the left of the grid) and note down the first letter of the name of your ship in the boxes it covers. For instance, the Cruiser is supposed to move three boxes, so mark any three adjacent boxes with the letter “C”, and do that for your entire fleet on your copy of the game.
When all players have marked their fleet on their personal grids, you can start playing by shooting at your opponent’s fleet. To do this, you call out a grid location depending on your reach, like “D2” or “B3”. If there is a ship in that box, it is a “hit”; otherwise, it is a “miss”. Take note of the ships you have successfully sunk by crossing them at the bottom right of your game’s print-out.
The victor is the one who has successfully sunk the ships of all other players.
Thinking games
These are games that specifically require the children to use logic, and are suitable for children of all ages. They include:
There are many fun activities to consider, including outdoor games like Chinese Ball, or even chess for children. Explore websites like Pinterest for great educational ideas that will stimulate your child and get them excited to learn.
At Childventures, we offer a summer camp program with plenty of activities to keep your child mentally and physically active all summer long. Spots are limited, so contact us today to register!
