Parents, are you looking for low-tech ways to keep your students’ brains active and engaged over the summer? Educators, are you searching for easy-to-implement tools to share with families who want to keep their kids’ skills sharp until they return to school in the fall? 

Mom and Success Academy founder and CEO, Eva Moskowitz, shares some exciting recommendations on ways to build kids’ intellectual curiosity and resilience through books, games, and activities. Keep reading to learn more! 

Summer is a well-earned time for relaxation, exploration, and memory-making with family and friends. It’s also a time to help kids continue growing the academic skills and strategies they learned during the school year. 

In her new book, A+ Parenting, Success Academy founder and CEO, Eva Moskowitz says: “Summer is so long that it’s unfortunate if a child doesn’t make any intellectual progress during that time. Thus, I’d suggest that at least some of your child’s summer be focused on activities that will advance their nonathletic skills or interests.” 

Not sure where to start? Independent reading is the best way to keep kids’ wheels turning and to address the dreaded “summer slide.” 

“Irrespective of what camp your children attend, they should do independent reading during the summer. I’ve found that the books I read while on vacation have made a particularly large impression on me because I don’t have much else on my plate intellectually. I suspect the same is true for kids: They will get more from independent reading during the summer than during the school year precisely because they aren’t in school.” 

Check out this list of recommended books, movies, and games for creative ideas on how to enhance learning until school is back in session! 

Books:

The Arrival by Shaun Tan (wordless)

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen (ages 4-6)

I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen (ages 6-8)

My Name Is Yoon by Helen Recorvits (ages 8-10)

Ghost by Jason Reynolds (ages 10-12)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (ages 12-14)

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (ages 14-18)

Movies and TV Shows:

Duck Soup (ages 6+)
Mankind: the Story of All of Us (ages 7+)
Ben Hur (ages 8+)
The African Queen (ages 9+)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (ages 10+)
To Be or Not to Be (ages 11+)
High Noon (ages 12+)
My Fair Lady (ages 13+)
The Big Short (ages 14+)
Rashomon (ages 15+)

Board Games:

Sequence
Backgammon
ThinkFun Gravity Maze Marble Run Logic Game
Connect 4
Settlers of Catan
Uno
Chess
Rummikub

For more tips and resources, pick up a copy of A+ Parenting today!