Summer is finally here.

Children have been counting down the days, school supplies are being put away, and everyone is ready for a change of pace.

And that's a good thing.

Summer should feel like summer.

Children need time to play outside, explore, create, spend time with family and friends, pursue their interests, and simply enjoy being children.

But summer can also provide wonderful opportunities to keep children using the reading, writing, math, and thinking skills they've worked hard to develop during the school year.

The good news?

Summer learning doesn't have to look like school.

Some of the richest learning opportunities are already hiding in ordinary summer activities: going to the grocery store, visiting the library, taking a nature walk, cooking dinner, building something from a cardboard box, or planning a family outing.

Here are 27 ways to keep children learning while still letting summer be summer.

What Is Summer Learning Loss?

“Summer learning loss,” sometimes called the summer slide, generally refers to declines in academic skills or test performance during the months children are away from school.

But the research is more complicated than the phrase sometimes suggests.

Studies using modern assessments have found that test scores often flatten or decline during summer, especially in math and in later elementary and middle-school grades. At the same time, there is considerable variation among children. Some show declines, some maintain their skills, and others make gains. Researchers also continue to debate how large the typical summer decline actually is.

So rather than assuming every child will “lose months of learning,” it can be more helpful to think about summer as an opportunity to keep important skills active while giving children new experiences to think, talk, read, write, calculate, create, and explore.

And none of that requires turning your kitchen table into a classroom.

Outdoor Summer Learning Activities

1. Let Children Play

Don't underestimate ordinary, self-directed play.

Building a fort, organizing a backyard game, creating an imaginary store, digging in the dirt, constructing something with sticks, or inventing rules for a game all give children opportunities to plan, solve problems, communicate, and create.

You don't have to turn every moment of play into a lesson.

Sometimes the best thing an adult can do is provide time, materials, and freedom to explore.

2. Take a Nature Walk

A walk around the neighborhood, through a park, or along a trail can become an opportunity for observation and investigation.

Encourage your child to notice:

• trees
• flowers
• insects
• birds
• rocks
• clouds
• animal tracks

Instead of immediately giving the answers, ask questions.

What do you notice?

What do you wonder?

How could we find out?

Take pictures or make sketches and look up unfamiliar plants, animals, or insects when you get home.

You could even turn the walk into a simple nature scavenger hunt.

3. Bring Out the Sidewalk Chalk

Sidewalk chalk can turn the driveway into an enormous learning space.

Young children can draw and name:

circles, squares, rectangles, triangles, stars

They can sort or identify colors.

Older children can make number lines, write words, practice spelling patterns, solve math problems, or create enormous diagrams.

And because the space is large, children can move while they work.

4. Make an Obstacle Course

Create a backyard obstacle course using whatever you have available.

Children might:

crawl under → jump over → run around → balance on → toss into

Have your child help design the course and write or draw the instructions.

You've just combined movement, sequencing, positional vocabulary, planning, and communication.

5. Blow Bubbles—and Experiment

Homemade bubbles provide an easy opportunity for experimentation.

Make bubble solution together, measure the ingredients, and create different bubble wands from household materials.

Then investigate:

Which wand makes the biggest bubble?

Does the shape of the wand matter?

What happens if we change the mixture?

Let children predict first and then test their ideas.

6. Build a Sandbox Volcano

If you're headed to the beach—or simply have a sandbox—build a volcano.

Children can shape the volcano, predict what will happen, and observe a simple baking-soda-and-vinegar reaction with adult supervision.

Then talk about how this model is similar to and different from a real volcano.

One activity can lead naturally into questions about rocks, landforms, chemistry, and the Earth.

Summer Reading and Writing Activities

7. Make Weekly Library Trips

One of the simplest summer habits is also one of the best:

Visit the library regularly.

Let children browse.

A child doesn't always have to choose the book an adult thinks they should read.

Try:

• novels
• picture books
• graphic novels
• joke books
• biographies
• cookbooks
• books about animals
• sports books
• craft books
• science books

Interest matters.

Many libraries also offer free summer programs, activities, clubs, and events, so see what's available in your community.

8. Let Your Child Write and Illustrate a Book

Fold several sheets of paper together and suddenly you have a book.

Let your child choose the subject.

It could be:

The World's Silliest Dog

How to Build the Perfect Fort

My Summer Adventure

Everything I Know About Dinosaurs

Younger children can draw and dictate while an adult writes. Beginning writers can add labels and simple sentences. More experienced writers can create several pages or chapters.

Then put the finished book on the bookshelf with the family's other books.

9. Write and Mail a Real Letter

Writing becomes much more interesting when someone is actually going to read it.

Have your child write to a grandparent, cousin, friend, teacher, or other special person.

Address the envelope together, add the stamp, and take it to the mailbox or post office.

Now writing has a real purpose.

10. Choose a Word of the Week

Pick an interesting word each week.

Talk about:

• what it means
• how it sounds
• how it's spelled
• words that are related to it
• where you might hear or read it

Then challenge family members to notice or use the word during the week.

Keep the words visible and see how large your collection becomes by the end of summer.

11. Have Family Story Time

Children don't outgrow being read to just because they can read independently.

Choose a chapter book, collection of stories, nonfiction book, or other family favorite and read together.

Take turns reading if appropriate, but don't make participation so demanding that it takes the pleasure out of the story.

Talk naturally about what's happening:

What do you think will happen next?

Why do you think the character did that?

What would you have done?

The conversation should feel like sharing a story—not taking a test.

12. Listen to an Audiobook and Bring It to Life

Audiobooks can be wonderful companions for car trips, quiet afternoons, or bedtime.

After listening, children might:

• draw a favorite scene
• act out part of the story
• describe a character
• predict what happens next
• build something from the story
• create a different ending

This helps connect spoken language, imagination, comprehension, and creative expression.

13. Read Books Your Child Can Actually Enjoy

Summer isn't the time to make every reading experience a struggle.

Children benefit from reading books that allow them to practice skills successfully as well as hearing richer books read aloud.

For beginning readers, Easy-for-Me™ Children's Readers provide connected reading practice using skills children are learning.

The important thing is to match the reading experience to the child.

A child who spends every summer reading session frustrated is unlikely to decide that reading is something they want to do more often.

Everyday Math and Life-Skills Activities

14. Plan a Meal and Make the Grocery List

Ask your child to help choose a meal.

Then figure out what you need.

Check the pantry.

Make a list.

Estimate quantities.

At the store, find the items and compare choices.

Reading, writing, planning, categorizing, and math suddenly have a practical purpose.

15. Give Your Child a Grocery Budget

For older children, add a budget.

For example:

We have $15 for fruit this week. What should we buy?

Children can compare prices, estimate totals, calculate differences, and decide how to spend the available money.

That's much more meaningful than a page filled with unrelated arithmetic problems.

16. Put Your Child in Charge of the Schedule

Ask your child:

What time do we need to leave?

How long will it take us to get there?

If the movie starts at 2:30 and lasts two hours, when will it end?

How many days until our trip?

Clocks and calendars become much easier to understand when children actually need the information.

17. Measure Everything

Give your child a ruler or tape measure.

Then start measuring.

How tall is the table?

Which stuffed animal is longest?

How wide is the bedroom?

Who in the family is tallest?

Older children can use the measurements to calculate perimeter or area.

They might even measure a room and draw a simple floor plan.

18. Open a Family Café

Let your child create a restaurant at home.

Make a menu.

Add prices.

Take orders.

Prepare something simple.

Measure ingredients.

Set the table.

Calculate the bill.

Older children can experiment with doubling or halving a recipe and talk about ratios and food safety.

One pretend café can incorporate reading, writing, math, measurement, sequencing, and practical life skills.

19. Use Everyday Math Problems

Math problems are everywhere.

We have eight popsicles and four people. How many can each person have?

The pool closes in 45 minutes. What time will that be?

We need three hot dogs for each person. Six people are coming. How many do we need?

Let children see that math isn't something invented for worksheets.

It's a tool for answering real questions.

20. Have a Yard Sale

A family yard sale provides an amazing collection of real-world skills.

Children can:

• sort items
• make signs
• decide prices
• count money
• calculate change
• organize a display
• talk with customers

Even if you don't actually hold the sale, younger children can create a pretend one.

Science, Building, and Problem-Solving Activities

21. Build Something From Recyclables

Save clean boxes, cardboard tubes, cartons, containers, and other safe materials.

Then give children a challenge:

Build something.

It might become a robot, city, marble run, vehicle, animal habitat, or something you've never imagined.

Ask children to explain what they built and why they designed it that way.

You can also talk about which materials can be reused or recycled and why.

22. Make Homemade Playdough

Making playdough requires children to follow directions and measure ingredients.

Using it creates another set of possibilities.

Young children can form:

• letters
• numbers
• shapes
• words

Older children might create models for science or storytelling.

The making is part of the learning.

23. Play Bingo With What Your Child Is Learning

Bingo can be adapted to almost anything.

Try:

• letters
• numbers
• shapes
• spelling patterns
• vocabulary
• math facts

Children can even make the Bingo cards themselves.

That gives them another opportunity to interact with the material before the game begins.

Creative Summer Adventures

24. Explore Somewhere New

You don't need an expensive vacation.

Visit a park, historical site, farm, nature center, nearby town, museum, lake, or neighborhood you've never explored.

Before going, look at a map.

Afterward, compare the new place with somewhere familiar.

What was the same?

What was different?

What surprised you?

Experiences give children something meaningful to talk, read, and write about.

25. Travel to Another City—Without Leaving Home

Choose a city or country you'd like to visit.

Find it on a map.

Learn about:

• foods
• landmarks
• money
• language
• climate
• traditions

Try preparing a food from the region.

Then have your child create a travel brochure persuading someone else to visit.

A “staycation” can become a geography, research, reading, writing, and cultural-learning project.

26. Create a Mini Museum

Visit a museum if you can—or create your own.

Children can collect and display:

• rocks
• shells
• leaves
• drawings
• photographs
• family artifacts
• models

Have them make labels explaining each item.

Then invite someone to tour the exhibit while your child serves as the museum guide.

Now research and writing have an audience.

27. Make a Summer Photo Album

Take pictures throughout the summer.

Once a week, choose one or two favorites and add them to an album, scrapbook, or digital collection.

Have your child add a short caption:

We went fishing with Grandpa.

Later, captions can become longer descriptions:

We went fishing with Grandpa at the lake. I caught my first fish, but it was so small that we put it back!

By the end of summer, your child has created something much more meaningful than a workbook:

a book about their own life.

Keep Summer Learning Simple

You don't need to do all 27 activities.

You don't need a complicated schedule.

And you certainly don't need to turn summer vacation into another semester of school.

Choose activities that fit your child's age, interests, and current needs.

A child who needs additional reading practice might benefit from a few minutes of regular, successful reading.

A child working on math facts can use them while playing games or solving real problems.

A child who loves science might spend hours collecting rocks, studying insects, building things, or conducting simple experiments.

The goal is not to cram more school into summer.

The goal is to keep children curious, give them meaningful opportunities to use what they know, and help learning remain part of everyday life.

Research on summer learning programs also supports combining academic opportunities with engaging, hands-on or recreational experiences rather than making summer learning feel punitive.

Summer can be restful and enriching.

Those two things don't have to compete.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is summer learning loss real?

Research suggests that average test scores can flatten or decline during summer, but the pattern varies substantially. Differences have been found across subjects, grade levels, assessments, and individual children. Some children lose ground, some maintain skills, and some make gains.

How can I prevent summer learning loss?

Focus on regular opportunities to use important skills rather than trying to recreate school at home. Reading, writing for real purposes, games, cooking, shopping, measuring, building, nature exploration, library visits, and family projects can all keep children thinking and practicing.

If your child has specific skills that still need reinforcement, add short periods of more intentional practice.

How much should my child read during summer?

There isn't one amount that's right for every child. Regular reading is more useful when the books are appropriate for the child's reading ability and interests and the experience remains positive. Continue reading aloud, too, even after children begin reading independently.

What should I do if my child is already behind in reading?

Summer can provide extra time to work on specific skills without the pressure of the regular school schedule.

Rather than simply telling a child to “read more,” identify where the difficulty begins. A child might need additional work with phonemic awareness, phonics, blending, spelling patterns, automatic word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, or comprehension.

Read more: How to Help a Struggling Reader Catch Up

Should children do worksheets during summer?

Worksheets aren't automatically good or bad, but they aren't necessary for every skill. Whenever possible, give children opportunities to apply learning in meaningful situations.

Calculating the cost of groceries, measuring ingredients, writing a letter, reading directions, keeping a journal, or researching an insect found in the backyard gives academic skills a reason to be used.