Sheldon Headley So, Summer has come. Your child is no longer in the classroom, but you might
be feeling nervous the few months out of school are going to impact your child’s ability
to learn. You might also be thinking that you want to help your child’s development in a
way that is not going to totally take the fun out of summer? This is why educational games are so amazing.
There are plenty of activities that you can get your child involved in that will teach them as they play and
they won’t even notice it’s learning! Below is a list of 6 educational games that you can easily
set up for your child this summer to assist with their learning outside of school months
but still, ensure they are having fun while doing it!
Sidewalk Chalk
Sidewalk chalk can give you so many possibilities to learn and have fun
outdoors. Pick up a pack of chalk and find a clear place and allow your child to get
creative. Letting them see a space and draw will allow them to constantly have their
mind working and be curious. If you wish to have a more structured activity, use the
chalk to play games like tic-tac-toe or hangman! These are very easy educational game that you
can set up and have fun while learning!
Scavenger Hunt
Setting up a scavenger hunt can be as easy or complex as you want it to be.
Scavenger hunts can help your child with organization and curiosity by getting outside
and exploring places while finding objects. You have the ability to customize your
scavenger hunt to whatever you think your child will be interested in and can get them
having fun while thinking critically!
Outdoor Memory Games
Creating a giant memory game can get your child thinking and moving all at the
same time! You can use big pieces of Bristol board or even get paper plates and fill
them with words to images and take it outdoors! Set them all out upside and spread
apart and have your child match! This allows you to get outside and have fun with your
child and allows them to get active while running around the grid trying to find matching
pairs. This will keep your child thinking and using their memory.
Treasure Hunt
Set up a treasure hunt with your child to solve clues and get closer to the prize!
Through this, you can have your child work on questions and riddles geared toward
whatever subject you want to move toward the end! This gives them something exciting
to work toward and will keep them happily engaged solving whatever problems you
have laid out. These could be everything from word puzzles to math problems! You also
have the ability to make this as long or short as you want to keep your child engaged all
day!
Decoding Games
You can make a decoding game to get your child to solve a riddle! Make up a
story about how you came to find this scrambled message and encourage your child to
decode it! Depending on the level your child is at, you can take all sorts of paths with
creating a message to be decoded! Simply scramble the words or use some sort of
resources that helps your child turn symbols into letters! With a fun story, your child will
be excited to help solve what the message is!
Related: Why teaching your child problem-solving is important
Egg Parachute
Do you have the access to a ladder or a roof? Why not get your child involved in
creating a parachute for an egg and drop it from a high level and see if it breaks! You
have the opportunity to teach your child about what will help protect the egg and work
together to create a contraption to protect the egg! This is always a game that gets
children excited to participate in and watch drop to the ground and will open your child
up to learn new things!
Just because it is Summer does not mean that you cannot keep your child
engaged and learning while having fun and playing educational games. Get your child outside (or stay indoors) and do one of these activities! Your child is guaranteed to have a fun time and you do not have
to worry about them not challenging their brain while on a break from school!
If you’re looking for fun activities to do as a family, check out our blog post here.
