What is summer slippage? Some children are prone to forget their learning over the summer holidays. Introduced by Alison Bissell, Director of A-List, Katie Krais, founder of JK Educate kicked off the launch of the Dukes Study Club with a round up of practical activities to not only keep your child happy and entertained but to keep them engaged and learning without even knowing about it.
Experienced teacher, SENCO, educational consultant, author and most importantly, mum of two, Katie knows that children learn best when they are happy and the summer holidays give parents an opportunity to engage with their children in ways that they cannot during the school term.
So where does one start? Katie suggests giving the children ownership. Make a bucket list of activities that everyone in the family would like to do. Then differentiate by adapting activities to suit the age and abilities of your child. And don’t forget to plan ahead. Did you know that most museums and galleries have done all the leg work already by identifying activities and displays to suit your child’s age and Key Stage?
There is so much going on over the summer – take a look at your local museums, zoos, galleries and stately homes (the Dukes Club has a whole host of reviews on the latest exhibitions by Dandelion London – all linked below). Visit Dippy the Dipolodocus at the National History Museum, discover the history of ravens at the Tower of London, or find your nearest National Trust open air theatre performance.
But you do not need to venture far from home to find fun and educational activities. Reading, growing plants, pond-dipping or transforming your kitchen into a science lab were just a few of the suggestions Katie had for our audience.
And right here at Dukes we have our own Dukes Study Club activities coming up for families to take advantage of. Half day in person workshops for children exploring maths, space, opera singing and poetry. There are also drop-in expert surgeries for parents and children to tackle questions on maths, creative writing, early years, entrance exams and verbal reasoning, as well as fun one-hour webinars for children exploring animal handling, ancient Egypt and the mindful art of zentangles. Visit our events page for more details.
Katie concludes that spending time with your children doing a range of activities provides valuable learning time in its own right. Exposing them to new things, talking to them and encouraging them to ask questions are all invaluable to learning.
Take a look Katie’s webinar recording below and visit the Dukes Club resources page to read Dandelion London’s suggestions for things to do over the summer - top beaches near London, summer theatre performances, summer exhibitions, summer exhibitions for older children, top five castles near London, and more.