Sneaking Learning
into Summer Fun
For many families, summer is a whirlwind of
road trips, family visits, camps and constantly
changing sports schedules. With all of this
activity, as well as your child wanting a break
from school, it can be very easy to let education
fall by the wayside. However, your child can
lose a lot of the progress they’ve made! It can
be very difficult to balance summer learning
and family vacations.

The best way to keep your child learning over
the summer is to incorporate activities that
don’t feel like learning. Below are some easy
ways to slide in a little learning while your kids
are enjoying their summer break.

The Beach
Does your family take beach
trips throughout the summer?
If so, your children have a living
science classroom at their dis-
posal. Have your children read
articles about hermit crabs, how
ecosystems work, why the ocean
has tides or what species are
endangered while they are actu-
ally at the beach. Then, ask them
to explain what they read.

Many beach towns also have
small museums or aquariums that
provide activities for children. If
you’re headed to Ocean City, the
Ocean City Life-Saving Museum
is very educational and has some
smaller aquariums worth explor-
ing. Or, if you’re headed down
to the Virginia Beach area, the
Virginia Aquarium and Marine
Science Center is a great place
to spend the day learning about
underwater life with over 800,000
gallons of fresh and saltwater dis-
plays. Kids really love being able to
24 WashingtonFAMILY JULY 2019
touch, see and feel, and they will
be able to remember what they
experienced a lot more at these
types of places than if they just
talked about it in a classroom.

Lastly, you can make a quick
and easy beach game using a
beach ball and a permanent
marker. You cover the ball with
questions, and your child has to
answer the question where his or
her thumb has landed. Be creative
with topics and levels of diffi-
culty, and feel free to add your
own point system for kids who
are motivated by competition.

Car Trips
If you have some long trips
ahead of you, you may consider
downloading some high-interest
audiobooks or podcasts to listen
to with your kids. This will allow
them to work on their listening
comprehension skills as well as
access a wide variety of content.

You can alternate between fiction
and nonfiction in order to mix
it up. Music is also a great audio
tool, especially if your child is
taking a foreign language.

If your child doesn’t get car-
sick, you have a whole new realm
of possibilities. You can use math
or word games on a smartphone
or tablet, scavenger hunts, word
hunts and memory games to keep
them occupied and working on
their academic skills.

City Exploring
We are fortunate enough to live
in an area that has amazing muse-
ums that are also free. The popular
Natural History Museum is always
a great choice because it provides
lots of hands-on experiences for
kids as well as stunning visual
displays. If you visit, try going to
the section that is most closely
aligned with last school year’s
curriculum to reinforce what your
child has learned. You can also
look ahead to the curriculum they
will see in the fall so that they will
have a visual representation of
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BY STEPHANIE HOSSFELD



Road Trippin’
Podcasts FOR KIDS
Long car rides are the ideal time to sneak in
some summer learning. These educational
podcasts below are so engaging, you might not
even hear your kids say, “Are we there yet?”
1 THE PAST &
THE CURIOUS
This history podcast
is full of excitement!
From stories of spies and
funny foods to George
Washington’s foibles and
historical hoaxes, this
fascinating podcast makes
learning about the past
oh-so fun. Each episode includes themed songs
and a recap quiz.

2 BUT WHY: A
PODCAST FOR
CURIOUS KIDS
But Why is a show that
aims at answering any
question your little one
can imagine. Kids submit
questions, and this podcast
delivers answers in a fun,
interesting and easy-to-
understand way. It tackles a plethora of topics
including nature, animals, cultural beliefs and even
the end of the world.

what they will be learning. The
same thing can be said for any of
the other Smithsonian museums
(and the zoo).

Another good choice is the new
International Spy Museum, which
provides a great opportunity to
use critical thinking skills. Visi-
tors are given a mission to carry
out while they are there and have
to use problem-solving skills to
complete it. This museum has an
admission fee, but kids absolutely
love it (even big kids).

Many of the embassies hold
cultural events and provide
programming for children.

These opportunities are great
for cultural awareness, building
tolerance, developing a strong
knowledge of geography and
learning about the arts.

Another thing to look out for
is events on the National Mall.

You never know what you might
find there, and you can always
visit the monuments to learn
about history and government.

At-Home Learning
Rainy summer days inside pro-
vide a great opportunity to play
educational games! This can be
on a tablet or smartphone, but
sometimes classic board games
are a better way to engage the
whole family. You can find games
for virtually any theme and any
age. If you are looking, Lake-
shore Learning has a lot of great
options. Some great board games
to keep your children’s minds’
sharp are Jenga, Word-A-Melon,
Suspend, Uno, Prime Climb and
good old-fashioned Chess.

If you implement some of
these ideas into your next sum-
mer vacation or just a lazy day
at home, you’ll be sure to keep
your child learning without
sacrificing any summer fun! ■
Stephanie Hosfeld is a
local tutor at Educational
Connections Tutoring, serving
the D.C. area.

3 PANTS
ON FIRE
It’s always important
for kids to know how to
decipher from fact and
fiction. In this hilarious
podcast, kids learn how to
discover what is true and
what is false in a game
show-style setting, where
kids interview adults on a particular topic. One is a
genuine expert, while the other is not, so kids must
spot the difference. It teaches young ones how to
ask insightful questions and analyze information
given — both essential skills.

4 TUMBLE
Tumble is the
ultimate science
podcast for kids! With the
help of real scientists, this
podcast tells stories about
science discoveries and
mysteries. In an ultra-
creative way, they make
learning about all aspects
of science easy and entertaining. Plus, your kids
don’t have to be full-on science enthusiasts to
enjoy this podcast. It’s amusing for all. ■
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