It’s nearly summer! Time for that well-deserved break from early mornings, busy evenings, packing snacks and lunches, nightly homework, and required activities. Instead, you have days to plan relaxing vacations, time to spend in nature, and special summer treats to enjoy! However, in the middle of all the well-earned summer fun, it is vitally important that our little learners do not forget all the amazing skills they’ve acquired throughout the school year. As their parent/guardian, you know how much effort and time your child put into mastering their phonics skills, high-frequency word lists, and academic goals this past school year. It was a lot of hard work! We don’t want them to lose those valuable skills that they’ve acquired. Without a little academic maintenance over the break, students can lose as much as one month’s learning during the summer holidays, requiring them to play catch-up as the school year resumes in the fall. How do we enjoy the summer break AND keep the academic skills current? Don’t worry – summer fun is not gone! Here are some interactive, hands-on ways to incorporate some high-frequency word review and practice into your sunny, summer days! As you practice, you will notice these words become instantly recognized sight words for your child as their automaticity and confidence grows!

Chalk masterpieces on the driveway or patio are a summer staple! To add a little reading practice to the outdoor artistic fun, take some Eyewords cards outside with you and write the word on the ground using sidewalk chalk. Encourage your child to draw the picture that is embedded into the word and then act it out together, saying the phrase that matches. If your little one has already mastered the picture-embedded version, have him/her add dots and hearts under the letters to identify the regular and irregular sounds in each word.

The summer break gives the perfect opportunity to take advantage of your local public library! Your learner will find books on any topic of interest and the opportunity to check out books can be a huge boost to reading motivation. Undoubtedly, there will be words that have not yet been learned or have some tricky sounds to master. Keep your Eyewords cards close by as you read together over the break and as your learner practices reading independently, encourage them to refer to the Eyewords cards for the multi-sensory cues that aid in their learning and mastery of the words. As you read to your child, sometimes pause at the words they know and the ones they are working on to give them extra opportunities to read them. Have them select the matching Eyewords card and review the motion, phrase, and phonics sounds together. Reread the books, using the cards, several times to help your learner gain mastery. It is so beneficial for children to see the words they are learning in real literature!

On an at-home day with no big plans, create an indoor or outdoor obstacle course for your children! Spread various objects (a pillow to jump over, a hoop to hula in, a ball to kick, a blanket to crawl under, etc.) around the area and tape an Eyewords™ card to each station in the course. Set a timer and watch your little one run to the first stop, read the word (adding the action and phrase, of course!), complete the physical activity, and move to the next station to repeat. Be sure to mix up the word order periodically!

“May I have a snack?” might be the most asked question at home! Snack time can provide the perfect opportunity for some sight word review. Using magnets or tape, place some Eyewords cards on the refrigerator door and have your little one read each word as a “password” for opening the refrigerator to get those snacks! Review the motion and phrase with them to help solidify those words! Eating some blueberries or cookies? Count out the same number of Eyewords cards as snack items and review them together as your little one eats.

Bowling can be a perfect indoor or outdoor activity with the right type of ball and enough empty space! There’s no need for real bowling pins – empty soda or water bottles work great. Tape some Eyewords cards to your “pins” and have your little one read each word on the pin they knock down. The better they get at aiming the ball, the more words they’ll be reading!

As you plan summer activities that help your child continue to enjoy learning and prevent loss of those mastered skills, stop by the Eyewords online store to grab some helpful resources! Our Eyewords card sets come with even more games and activities for your learner, the worksheets bundles would be perfect for rainy days or passing the time on a road trip or flight, and the interactive lessons would be a great way to combine learning time with screen time! Be sure to follow Eyewords on social media too to see more ideas being added daily!