With each new shoal class comes an unfamiliar instructor , expanding academic , young arithmetic mean and eye - afford experiences . The hullabaloo can be dizzying for a presently - to - besecond - grader , specially in the first days and weeks of that expectant - kid world .
To be expect , of course . Change is n’t simple , whether you ’re 7 or 70 . as luck would have it , many U.S. school districts put you in a perfect position to help . It ’s called summer break , and you may use it to help make your small fry ’s transition from first to indorse a smooth one .
No , you wo n’t be teaching summertime schooling – or at least not that kind of summertime school . But you’re able to brush up on first - grade skill , and inaugurate a few new ones , without your shaver overlook out on any of that well - earn summertime fun . Think of it as enshroud the vegetable in something your child will actually eat , but without the pureeing .
The key is to keep it play - based ; just because second course will be more traditionally academic does n’t mean summer learning has to be . With some creativeness ( and much less sentence than you think ) , these month can be like a 2nd - grade - preparatory extravaganza .
Here , some natural process ideas to get you started and revolutionise your inner cool instructor . They can help bridge the gap between this yr and last , readdress attainment your child might have clamber with in first mark and make the opening weeks of second grade feel a sight more comfortable .
To begin the learning playfulness , try putting on a show !
Fun with Language
2d gradeis a big class for language and literacy growth . The typicalfirst - grader , if there is one , finished the year with some formidable attainment , such as the ability to take and write most dewy-eyed words , possibly with some exploit ; recognize gobs of common words on sight ; and tell clock time to the nearest half- or fourth - minute .
This class , speech skills will exposit to include read with increase fluency and speed , and " sight words " will become less of a focus as show replaces recognition . Your small fry ’s vocabulary will start to farm by leap and bound .
So let ’s have play with that :
Opening Night !
Do you have an role player on your hands ? If so , put that talent to good manipulation . On a rainy afternoon , model down at the kitchen table and compose a ( very ) short play together , with your child doing most of the piece of writing . Next , lead lines until the star can study his or hers fluently , involve other household members if the script calls for it . Then , act it out ! The show can be an inner event , of course , but you could make it even more exciting by invite over some ally and family to watch the sport .
Use That Word !
Vocabulary practice does n’t have to intend flash cards . Word - a - Clarence Shepard Day Jr. calendars can be so much fun , and sometimes downright funny , and there ’s no rule against Thomas Kyd having some million - buck words in their repertoire . So find a fun one , and put it the right way where your child will see it first matter in the break of day . Each day , permit your child release the Sir Frederick Handley Page and add a brand - new entry to that growing vocabulary . Get the whole house involved , and see who can use the word the most – correctly , of class – with a running run through the Clarence Day . Winner picks tomorrow night ’s dinner !
Reading Road Trip !
recall Punch Buggy ? Or peradventure you know it as Slug Bug ? Well , this biz will be kind of like that . But with no punching . And with words instead of VW Bugs . But other than that , it ’s the same , and it ’s ideal for those long summerdrives . Decide together on a transportation - related word before head out in the car , believably one that ’s at least somewhat familiar ( like " break off " or " car " or " exit " ) , and work along paper and pencil for grading . Each time either of you spots that word , you call it out , and your tyke piss a run mark . achiever gets anice - creamcone ! And so does runner - up !
Next , making secure use of all those tally marks …
Fun with Numbers
As with reading and writing , mathgets more ripe in second grade . Last class , Book of Numbers became less mysterious , with unmarried - digit calculations and enumeration by 2s and 5s , and the idea of time became both more and less complex . This class , addition and subtraction go double - finger’s breadth , word problems are tackled using logical thinking skills and the construct of multiplication and segmentation are insert . sentence - tellingis more accurate , and measurement and graphing make their style into the programme .
Some fun ways to head happily into second - grade mathematics :
Take Those Tallies Further !
You do it those reckoning from your modified Punch Buggy and Bible - of - the - day games ? Do n’t throw them out ! Graphing is an important 2nd - grade acquisition , and those score cards are perfect fresh fish . Break that car cod down into hours , and make a bar graph establish how many words each of you spotted in each hour . Play " apply That Word ! " for a workweek and then chart the number of win each family fellow member rack up over seven days . These types of projects are also groovy for exploring patterns and posing hypotheses : Judging from this month ’s graphs , who do you think will make headway next calendar month ?
Is It Time to Go ?
Turn " Is it time yet ? Is it time yet ? Is it clock time yet ? " to your advantage by putting the globe in your picayune one ’s court . Together , set a clock time for a playfulness junket , at least as specific as the quarter - hr but maybe even down to the minute , depending on accomplishment level . Then , leave it up to your tike to let you know when it ’s metre to go !
cooky !
… or cupcake or pancake or goober pea - butter squares . Any variety of baking offers the perfect assembly for practicing some math acquirement . you could sneak in all sorts of bit lesson . If we need 2 cups of flour , how full should we make the 4 - cup amount ? If the recipe calls for two chocolate drops on each cooky , and we have three cookie on the sheet , how many drops do we postulate ? The recipe calls for 12 minutes in the oven , but we should check them midway through – how long should we hold off ? Oops , I ate three of the cooky we bake – how many do we have left ?
permit your child take the lede whenever potential here , because baking can also direct a different side of 2d grade …
Fun with Responsibility (Really!)
Second level is register and writing and arithmetic ; it ’s ecumenical exploration of skill and euphony and cultures . It ’s also , however , about personal developing , and that underlying small-arm of the syllabus runs through every subject area .
This year , your tiddler will memorize to be more independent , ego - reliant and creditworthy than ever before , and your aid is positively required for this lesson . And while " responsibility " in school might be a piffling boring ( or not ) , you’re able to make it part of the fun this summer at home .
Doubtful ? Try out one of these :
Sell Some Lemonade
Put those cooking math projects to entrepreneurial habit with a region lemonade standstill ! ( Or bake sale or vegetable - from - our - garden cut-rate sale – you get the idea . ) Help your child make the potable ( with him or her doing the measuring , of course of instruction ) , persuade the board to the private road and lug the deoxyephedrine , and then , stand back . After first grade , your budding business possessor can tell the difference between the various types ofcurrency , so taking a fourth a cup is totally within his or her compass . And if you step in to help make alteration , be sure to play a supporting role : " Four quarters make a dollar " is fantastic second - grade prep .
Throw a Yard Sale
Do n’t get much casual foot traffic where you live ? Bring the customers to the lemonade with a cubic yard sale ! It ’s a perfect way for kids to avail with the attempt , and play a responsible part in the sale will be exciting for your 7 - class - old . Another great yard sale part ? A kids ' table , where everything is a dime and your fry is in burster .
Start an tolerance
If you have n’t yet bring a hebdomadal allowance for chores , now would be a great time to do so . dry out the dishes , walking the pawl and order all the plaything away at the destruction of the day are worthwhile tasks . And while those tasks may not be much fun , move to the dollar depot on Saturday so your child can grease one’s palms whatever he or she want with his or her own workweek ’s earnings ( or rather half of them , with the rest set aside for a rainy 24-hour interval ) will be a joy . You may even discover yourself with a true saver on your helping hand who ’d rather hit the plaything depot once a calendar month !
Allowances and theatre output and following dim-witted formula may not seem very schooling - like , but that ’s the point . Summer fun can be the circumstance for all sorts of lesson your child can conduct confidently into 2nd mark , and getting there is easy : snaffle a few ideas , adapt them to your kinsperson and your child ’s specific needs , and tap into the same originative streak that draw your kid to eat the Brassica oleracea italica . You ’ll probably line up second - gradation prep to be easier than the Brassica oleracea italica .
For more entropy on 2d mark , schoolhouse programme and age - based summer playfulness , look into out the links on the next Thomas Nelson Page .
In babble about what student have learned by the final stage of first grade , it ’s hard to cover all of the possibilities . To that effect , you ’ll notice I used a lot of qualifiers – " peradventure mastered , " or " perhaps with some effort . " It ’s a reality that some students enter 2d grade with stunning meter reading acquisition , and others are still stumbling a bit , and there ’s nothing strange about either ability level . I hope you ’ll take my discussions of what they know , what they ’ll check and how they ’ll transition from first to second ground level as guidelines , not absolutes . Your child ’s teacher are the best ones to tell you if your child needs spare challenge or extra help .
