Preventing summer brain drain

By Jemma Z Smith

Summer holidays are fabulous but all too often the return to school in September can come as a bit of a shock to the system. How do you spell that word again? What’s that fractions rule? The feeling of forgetting everything is really common (for adults too!).

Here are some fun activities you can do over the long summer break to keep everyone’s minds in tip top condition and just as sharp as in term time.

Times table bingo

This can be a really good way of practising your times tables. There are lots of free and downloadable resources out there but essentially all you need is paper, pencils and perhaps a times table square that you can refer to.

While you’re in the maths zone, try making up dice games. For example, start with three or more dice and set challenges: can you roll a number higher than… an even number, a prime number or a number in a certain times table. The possibilities are endless. Assign points to the winner and make it as competitive as you wish!

Kim’s game

This is a popular memory game that you can play anywhere. Find ten objects and place them on a tray or picnic blanket. Everyone has a good look, then all but one person closes their eyes and an item is silently removed. Can the kids remember what has been taken? For variation, cover the tray and everyone has to try to remember the whole list of ten objects.