As summer begins for children across the state, Iowa Connections Academy, a K-12 virtual public school, encourages learning to help students keep their minds sharp prior to entering school again next fall.
Studies show academic concepts can “slide” during the summer months, causing students to lose up to two months of in-class knowledge from the previous school year. In order to avoid what is commonly known as “summer learning loss” and maximize educational retention, Connections Academy educators are sharing fun ways to encourage parents to turn to the arts to keep learning alive during the long summer months.
Summer Learning Arts Activities from Connections Academy:
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1. Create a living room theater: Have your child act out their favorite stories books, plays, TV shows, or even a script from their own imagination. Get the whole family involved by creating props, costumes and programs!
2. Study music…online!: Music lessons, courses, tools and demos from the Juilliard faculty and students are all at the tips of your fingers at Juilliard eLearning. With 24/7 access and reasonable pricing, the next Mozart could be seated in your living room.
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3. Guess titles of works of art: Make a game out of your next museum trip. Cover the title and take turns guessing the artist of each work of art. You’ll have a blast while boosting your child’s reasoning skills.
4. Test your music IQ: Play the Connections Academy Quiz Bowl Challenge! Test your music skills and then challenge your friends to riveting game of music trivia.
5. Become the play writer: Story cubes, dice painted with different icons, are a fun way to create your next play, dance, script or other works of art. Want to get extra creative? Break out the paint brushes and design your own story cubes using icons of your choice!
6. Dance your name: Have your child trace the letters of their name using their hand, food, elbow, or any other body part. Clap your hands, bang on some pans or shake some salt shakers to speed up the tempo. Start of slow and build the pace, mimicking the beginning, middle and end of a story.
7. Compose your own theme song: Write down five words that describe yourself and sing them in your head. What musical sound or rhythm comes to mind? String together your sound to create your very own theme song. Now all you need is a cape!
8. Make a masterpiece: Break out the paints, crayons, colored pencils and… rulers. Inspire your child to replicate works of art by the famed Piet Mondrian, such as “Composition with Yellow, Blue and Red,” with their own personal flair. Ask them to mimic the length of the grid’s lines to squeeze in some added math practice.
9. Break a math sweat: Ask your child to solve an equation by dancing the answer. Each hop, skip, leap equals “one.” So for “two multiplied by two,” a correct answer would be four hops or four leaps, etc.
10. Open a book: No summer learning list is complete without reading. To keep with the arts theme, pick up biographies about great composers, artists or dancers. Sharpen your art skills by creating finger puppets to bring the characters to life.
Iowa Connections Academy is a tuition-free, high-quality, highly accountable virtual public school serving students in grades K-12 throughout Iowa. Connections Academy is a division of Connections Education, which is accredited by AdvancED. The school opened in 2012 and operates in partnership with CAM Community School District. For more information, call 712-762-3496, visit the school’s website or visit the teaching center located at 807 3rd St., Anita, IA 50020.