Q A &

BY PEGGY GISLER AND MARGE EBERTS

Summer Learning Activities

Storytelling

This is a skill that helps children develop their oral language skills and teaches them how to present material in a sequential order. Being a good storyteller definitely pays dividends at school. It can be especially enjoyable to practice this skill any time the family is together, whether at meals, on car trips or around campfires in the evening. The earlier you start your children telling stories, the more likely it will become an enjoyable part of their lives.

Preschool and Kindergarten

• Take your children to a storytelling session at the local library, so they will learn what fun it can be to hear stories.

• Have your children frequently retell favorite stories. Encourage them to change the ending if they would like to do so.

• Instead of reading a book at bedtime, tell your children a story. They will especially enjoy hearing about things that you did as a child.

Elementary School

• Have your children take turns telling a story alternating between using “Luckily, ...” and “Unluckily, ...” to start each sentence. Or the sentences can start with one or other of these word combinations: happily and sadly, frequently and rarely, safely and dangerously, or any other combination your family wants to use. These stories should amuse the family. For example, you might retell a fairy tale such as The Three Bears using lines like Luckily, Goldilocks found a house in the woods. Unluckily, the bears came home early.

Middle School and Beyond

• Encourage your older children to play games that actually involve some storytelling, such as Fabrication, in which they will tell an outrageously tall tale. It is a good way for them to discover storytelling is fun.

Word Games

• Word games are great for children of all ages because, besides having fun playing a game, children are also expanding their vocabulary and spelling skills. Many games also can enhance their critical thinking skills.

• For younger children, word games can be made from words they know or need to know. For example, you can make two sets of word cards—each with the same words—and then use them to play the card games War, Go Fish and even Old Maid. These same cards can be used to play memory games by laying them out and turning them over to find matching pairs.

• Right now, the game Wordle, online at the New York Times site, is quite popular and can be played every day. It is a challenging way to enhance your children’s spelling skills and word knowledge.

• You should also introduce your children to the game and TV show 25 Words or Less. This will improve their ability to define words.

• Popular board games such as Scrabble, Boggle and Bananagrams often have versions for different age levels.

• Older children should be introduced to the challenge of crossword puzzles and cryptograms in hopes that they may become a lifelong interest.