Summer Learning Challenges
Welcome to our 2021 Summer Learning Challenges!
How to use this site:
Weekly Challenges and Activities
Week 1: June 7 - 11 - SUMMER FUN!
Summer Fun!
Reading Materials
| K-2 Read-Aloud Videos | | | 3-6 Nonfiction Articles | | | 3-6 Epic Collection* |
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| And Then Comes Summer | | | Far-out Flavors | | | Summer Fun Collection |
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| On the First Day of Summer Vacation | | | Esports on the Rise | | |
To access the Epic collection, go to the link above and use the code: jtu1761
Then search and choose the student's name.
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| Summer Days and Nights | | | | | ||
Reading Activities
| K-2 Activities | 3-6 Activities | |
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Planning for Summer!
In the stories you read or listened to you saw all kinds of fun things to do in the summer. What are some of your favorite activities? Share them with your family and make a plan to do one of these activities. Think about what you will need in your plan. |
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E-Sports!
E-sports camps are making it big this summer. Instead of going to camp to play outside, swim, and do other fun activities, many parents are sending their kids to e-sports camp. The kids that attend that kind of camp want to become professional gamers. Read the article and then complete either the scavenger hunt activity or the Venn diagram activity below.
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ABC Challenge!
Can you make a list? Make a list using your ABCs to create a list of summer words. Use your notebook to make your first one. If you can’t write yet, get someone in your family to write the words as you come up with them! Then tell them why that word goes with the theme summer. Try and think of really unusual words! If you can’t think of “summer words” help your family make a shopping list using your ABCs.
Here is an example of one: A - airplane - You might travel to a vacation spot this summer, or even visit your grandma and grandpa’s house. B - beach - The beach is a perfect place to spend some time in the summer! C - cool - Sometimes it is hard to stay cool during the summer! |
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How Would the Story Change? All of the stories you listened to have to do with summer. How would the story change if the setting were different? (Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place) Think about the changes in the story if it was fall, what might you be doing during that season? Winter? Spring? Would you spend time in other places? Use the sidewalk chalk from your learning packet and draw a picture of your favorite activity in summer and choose one of the other settings to draw a picture of your favorite activity in that season too!
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Ice Cream Treat!
Ice cream is a great treat during the hot, hot summer. The article choice in your reading links included a good article and video about different unusual ice cream flavors. If you choose to read the article “Far Out Ice Cream”, choose one of these two activities to do!
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Planning for Summer!
Summer is a fun time to plan for family activities. Plan a whole day and make a schedule of your activities. Start with waking up, think about what time that might be. Are you a late sleeper or early riser? Then plan the rest of your day complete with times and details. Your plan can be something you can really do or one that is totally from your imagination. You choose how to plan the perfect summer day!
Here is an example of a schedule! Now make your own.
Parents, if you want to read an article that gives you ideas, go to this Best Summer Schedule for Kids That You Can Print and Use Daily
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Math Activities
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Beach Ball Math (K-6) Beach balls are fun throughout the year, but they are easy to find in stores during summer! You will use the beach ball in your learning packet and create a game using the ball and black marker in your learning packet. Think about what you might need to practice and get some help from a parent or older brother or sister. Whatever types of problems you choose to put on the beach ball, you follow this same set of directions. Throw the ball to a partner. Wherever their right thumb lands they have to solve the problem, it might be naming the number or solving an equation or problem. For those doing addition, subtraction or multiplication, find the numbers that are closest to your thumbs and then add, subtract, multiply or divide. Here are some pictures to help you decide how to use your beach ball for some summer fun math review!
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Number Line Fun (K-6) A number line is a great way to practice many math skills. In this math challenge, you will go outside and use your sidewalk chalk to draw a number line. In this great post from Math Geek Mama, she provides the following instructions for using a number line to play games at multiple levels. Enjoy! Sidewalk Chalk Number Line Race
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Sidewalk Chalk Jumping Math Maze Challenge (2-6) Here is another activity that works best for students in grades 2-6 and is from the same great blog. This link provides all of the instructions for playing the game called Jumping Maze Math. Sidewalk Chalk Jumping Maze Math Challenge
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Tic Tac Tens (K-6) Materials: regular dice and paper Skills: Making Tens, Making Hundreds, and Making Ones (decimals) Watch the video here to learn how to play three different levels of the same game! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tE0bsRfqC8w
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Knock Off the Clock (K-6) Materials: regular dice and/or cards, paper Skills: Operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) or number sense Watch the video here to learn how to play this game! |
Bonus Activities!
Think-a-grams Challenge!
Fun Summer Family Activities
All you need is a little space and sunshine for these activities that get kids moving.
- Build a water blob or a slip 'n slide. ...
- Build an obstacle course in the backyard. ...
- Climb trees together. ...
- Fly a kite. ...
- Go fishing. ...
- Have a bubble gum bubble blowing contest. ...
- Have a water balloon baseball game. ...
- Have a water gun race.
- Have a picnic at the playground.
- Kick off your day with donuts and smoothies at the park.
- Host a cookout.
- Roast marshmallows over a campfire and make s'mores.
- Camp out in your backyard.
- Go for a family bike ride.
- Have a water gun or water balloon battle.
100 Fun Summer Ideas for Kids and Parents
Want to let us know what you did this week? Fill out this quick form.
Enjoy your summer and don’t forget to practice what you learned in school this year!
Week 2: June 14 - 18 - VIRTUAL VACATION!
Virtual Vacation!
Reading Materials
| K-2 Read-Aloud Videos | | | 3-6 Nonfiction Articles | | | 3-6 Epic Collection* |
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| Imagination Vacation | | | The Search for Pirate Gold | | | Vacation Collection |
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| Maisy Goes on Vacation | | | Space Vacation | | |
To access the Epic collection, go to the link above and use the code: jtu1761
Then search and choose the student's name.
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| Timmy's Terrific Travels | | | | | ||
Reading Activities
| Imagination Vacation | Maisy Goes on Vacation | Timmy's Terrific Travels |
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In this story, a family each wants to go to a different place in the world. As you listen to the story, think about a place that you would most like to go by using your imagination!
After you listen, complete some of these activities.
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In this story, Maisy the mouse goes on a vacation! Her vacation takes her to the beach. She is visiting her grandma’s house.
Use this story to help you complete some of the following activities!
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In this story, Timmy travels around the world. He sees many interesting places and lots of famous sites. Pay attention as you read or listen to this story and see if you can name some of the countries he visits. One clue is a tiny picture of a flag at the top of the page, it will tell you where Timmy is in the world. |
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Choose a Place to Go:
Where did you decide you want to visit? Can your family pick one spot or is everyone interested in visiting their own spot? Let’s work on the place you chose.
You can even do some research with the help of an adult or older brother or sister. Find out all you can about the place you are most interested in seeing! |
Grandparents' House:
Have you ever visited your grandma and grandpa’s house? What do you call them? Do you have a different name like Mimi for grandma and Pops for grandpa?
Talk with your family about how they got their nicknames or why you call them what you do. |
Traveling with Timmy:
Once you have finished the story, talk with someone in your family and tell them which place Timmy visited that you would like to visit too.
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Getting Ready to Go:
You will need to pack a suitcase for your imaginary vacation. Play this game with your family. Here is how: The first person starts the game by saying “I packed my suitcase with my”……. and thinks of an item they choose to put in - like a teddy bear. The next person will repeat the sentence “I packed my suitcase with my "teddy bear and chooses their own item to add on like pajamas. The next person would then repeat the phrase “I packed my suitcase with my teddy bear and pajamas" then adds their own idea. The game continues by repeating the phrase and each person adding another item each time until someone can’t remember all the items added. |
Make a List for your Trip:
What items might you take to the beach? Make a list of 10 important things you might need. Be sure to think of things to eat, things for play, and anything else you might want to have.
Write the list in your notebook provided in your learning packet!
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Name the Countries:
How many of the countries can you name that he visited? Can you make a list or have someone help you make a list?
After you make the list, listen to the story again to see if you got them all!
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Write a Postcard:
Use a notecard from your learning packet to make a postcard to tell a friend what you've been doing on your vacation!
On one side write what you did, on the other side, draw a picture of something you saw, did, or wanted to do. If you can’t write, have someone older help you write a postcard.
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Retell the Story:
Read the story of Maisy and retell the story to someone in your family. What happened first, next, and last? This is called sequencing. It is a big word but it just means thinking about what happened at the beginning of the story, the middle, and the end. Make and fill in this simple graphic organizer with the help of someone in your family! (Click the picture for a printable version.)
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Explore on a Map:
Now that you know what countries you are looking for, it is time to find the cities on a map!
Using the map below, can you chart Timmy’s travels? Either:
 (Click the picture to enlarge or print.)
If you want to play a game with an adult that helps generate this type of map, try it here! Where in the World? |
| The Search for Pirate Gold | Space Vacation |
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How would you like to take a vacation to hunt for hidden treasure? Sounds like fun but also like a lot of work! In this article, you will find out about a ship that sank in 1717. It was a Pirate ship filled with silver and gold. 300 years later, someone discovered the wreckage and the buried treasure. Explore this historical event and connected activities! |
How about the ultimate vacation - a trip to the International Space Station! NASA announced that this might soon be a reality! For a few dollars, $35,000 per night, to be exact, you can go and stay on the International Space Station yourself and stay for as long as 30 days! How does that sound? In this article, you will get insight into what that vacation might look like! |
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Getting to Know Storyworks:
In Storyworks you can change the level of reading to match the one that fits you best. On the right side bar, change the reading level to the one that is best for you. Look below for an example of what you will see and the options you have to choose from.
 There are also additional tabs to explore. You can get background information about the ship and sunken treasure and you can even do additional challenges based on the story! Click on the Resources tab to get more information about the sunken Pirate Ship along with several projects that might interest you!
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Astronauts Wanted:
After you read this article, do a bit more research about how an astronaut on the International Space Station spends his/her day. You can find that information on this site: How does an astronaut spend their day? Now we know a bit about how astronauts spend their day, let’s look closer at what they can’t do in space! What Astronauts Can't Do in Space! When you are finished with your research, write a job posting looking for Astronauts that want to travel to the International Space Station to work. A job posting is a short article or advertisement that explains about a job and why people should apply for it. Let them know about the job and the responsibilities they will have! |
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Artifact Brainstorm:
Artifacts are treasures from the past. Whether buried undersea (sunken treasure) or buried in the ground or a cave, what would be the most interesting types of artifacts for you to search for? Think about it using the wheel below. In the center, place the name of the place you are searching for treasure. Then in each section, type a different kind of artifact you might find there. Describe it and why it would be considered special or valuable.
 (Click the picture to enlarge or print.) |
Space Station Fact or Fib:
Want to know even more about the space station? Check out twenty questions answered here: 20 FAQ's about the International Space Station
Once you've read the questions and their answers, you can play Fact or Fib!
Use 3 or 4 index cards from your learning packet. On each card write 2 facts and 1 fib about the International Space Station. (That means 2 things that are true and 1 thing that you make up!) Once you've made all your cards, challenge someone to see if they can pick out the fib on each card!
Example Card:
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Fun Pirate Games!
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Space and Slime
Nickelodeon sent some of their famous green slime to the International Space Station for the Astronauts to study! Watch these videos to see what happened:
Then think about these things. Write the answers in your journal.
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Math Activities
| K-2 | 3-6 |
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Junior Star Traveler
Great addition and subtraction game for K-2 using dice and cards from your learning packet. Click here for the video and demonstration of how to play! |
Slime Recipes!
Following a recipe is great practice for math! It requires you to measure ingredients and even use fractions. Can you follow a recipe and make slime yourself? Let’s try one of these recipes for slime! Measure carefully!
If you don't have the ingredients for slime, don't worry! Just choose a different math activity this week. You can always come back to this activity later.
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Subtraction Track
Fun subtraction game you play with a partner. Click here for the video and demonstration of how to play.
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Beach Ball Math
Since the beach is often a vacation destination, use the beach ball you made last week with the materials in your learning packet and play a game with it again. Look back at last week's activities if you need instructions for how to play.
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Divide and Conquer
Use your deck of cards from your learning packet to practice your division facts with this fun game! Here's a video that shows you how to play!
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Simple Cart Sort (PreK and K)
Using the cards in your deck from your learning packet, sort the cards that are the same, you can sort by color or number. How many of each can you find?
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Pick 3
This card game is great for older students, but can work for younger kids too. This game is best played in pairs, but could be done in larger groups if needed. In this game, students will first lay out the cards randomly, face down. (Face cards should be removed, or assigned a value). One student will randomly turn over 3 cards. If they can make a number sentence out of the 3 cards (for example, 3 + 5 = 8), they get to keep all 3 cards. If not, they turn them back over and it is the next student’s turn. Whoever ends the game with the most cards wins!  |
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Road Trip Games
Here are a few math games to play while in the car!
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Fun Bonus Activities!
For kids on a road trip, there is plenty of time to play reading and math games. Here are a few ideas.
For grades K–3:
- Car bingo: Create a car bingo card with words, shapes, colors, and items that children will likely see during a trip (stop signs, billboards, railroad signs, etc.) to reinforce reading skills, math, and sight words.
- The number game: Look out the window and call out when you see one, two, three, or four of something, and so on.
- The alphabet game: One person chooses the right side of the road, and the other chooses the left. Call out objects that you see in alphabetical order (you can use a sign only for one letter). The first person to get to the letter "z" wins.
For grades 4–8:
- Capital game: Take note of each license plate you see, not by state, but by state capital. The first to correctly identify 10 state capitals wins.
- Cow game: One person takes the right side of the road, the other takes the left. Keep count of all the cows you see. You earn one point for each cow. When you see a cemetery out of your side of the car, you lose all your points.
- Animals galore: Decide on a number of points for each animal that you see (cow = 1 point, horse = 1 point, pig = 2 points, etc.). As you drive, add up the points. Play until one person gets 10 points, or for a set time.
- Math with license plates: Use the numbers on license plates to practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, and number patterns and see just how creative kids can get!
- Family Science Lab Challenges from the International Space Station (requires extra time and materials)
- Staycation Ideas! - Things to do at home that still feel like a vacation.
- Map it Out
- Before you leave for your trip, have your child map out the route you are traveling. They can calculate the number of miles, total amount of time, and different paths you will take.
- Your child can monitor your traveling progress along the way and will have a better understanding of when you will be arriving at your destination.
Week 3: June 21 - 25 - WATER FUN!
Water Fun!
It is hot hot hot outside in the middle of June, especially in Texas! What better way to cool off than to have some water fun! In these activities, you will learn about so many things but also how to have some fun with water! Here are 100 Fun facts about water… you may need them someday to win a Trivia game! Read them with an adult and find your favorite facts. 100 Fun Facts about Water. Share one of the facts you learned with someone you know!
Reading Materials
| K-2 Read-Aloud Videos | | | 3-6 Nonfiction Articles | | | 3-6 Epic Collection* |
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| Day at the Beach | | | Sea Turtle Summer | | | Water Fun Collection |
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| Llama Llama Learns to Swim | | | Surfing in California | | |
To access the Epic collection, go to the link above and use the code: jtu1761
Then search and choose the student's name.
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| At the Beach | | | | | ||
Reading Activities
| A Day at the Beach | Llama Llama Learns to Swim | At the Beach |
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In this story, Gideon has a plan! He is going to build the most awesome sandcastle ever. Usually, he and his sister build one together, but this year he has another plan. Read the story to find out what his plan is… does it work? Be sure to answer the questions at the end of the story!
Now try one or two of these activities to practice working together! Find some neighborhood friends or family members to play with you. (These games are appropriate for any age.) |
In this story, Llama is afraid because he doesn’t know how to swim. He has a problem, since he wants to play in the water and can’t swim. See how Llama Llama solves his problem. After you read or listen to this story, try some of the activities listed below. |
In this book, you can learn all about the beach! What kind of sand will you find? What is a tide pool? Find these answers and more in this book about the beach! After you finish reading or listening to this book, try a couple of these activities. |
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Cats and Dogs This is an excellent activity for making teams or groups. Every child must choose to be a cat or a dog, and the goal is to find and join others of the same animal. Children must make the sound of their animal to locate others because everyone has their eyes closed. The game is over when all the dogs and cats have found each other. Children may take turns to suggest animals other than dogs and cats. |
Connecting to the Story
Have you ever had to learn something new? What was it and how did you learn it? Did someone help you? How did you learn it?
Talk to someone in your family about how you felt and what it was you had to learn to do. |
ABC List
Who and what lives on a beach or in the water by the beach? Make an ABC list of things you might find in the sand or in the water at a beach near the ocean. How many can you find?
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Create a Work of Art
Materials: Large piece of paper; crayons or markers Decide on a theme for the artwork. Spread a large piece of paper on the floor and have children work together as a team to create a piece of artwork based on the chosen theme. Encourage children to share ideas and divide duties to create a masterpiece. |
Problem Solving Organizer
What is a problem solver? Did you say, a person who solves problems? Well you are right, but how do you do that? Let’s look at a way to solve a problem using a graphic organizer. That’s a big word that just breaks apart the process or the steps you take to solve a problem. Use this tool to help you figure out Llama Llama’s problem and how he solved it.
 (Click picture to enlarge or print.)
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Five Senses Chart
Pretend you are at the beach, near the ocean. What are some things you might experience using your senses? What does it smell like? What does it feel like? Can you describe it? Use this 5 senses chart to record your imaginary observations! If you have not ever been to the beach, ask someone who has been there to help you imagine, or look at the pictures in the book to help you!
(Click picture to enlarge or print.)
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Group Puzzle Activity
Take a puzzle and divide the puzzle pieces among the children. Have the children put the puzzle together as a team. Encourage them to communicate and collaborate as they use the pieces to complete the puzzle. |
| Sea Turtle Summer | Surfing in California |
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This selection is actually a play that has narrators and characters! When a boy’s best friend moves away, he learns an important lesson from an injured sea turtle.
You should try and read this play with a small group of people even if you have to read more than one part. Enjoy!
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Before you read this story, for 3 minutes brainstorm everything you know about surfing. Ready go….. Now that you have done that, read about how surfing has become California’s sport! Do you know what Texas’s sport is? Take a guess... you will find out in the article! Read it and then complete one of the activities below! |
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Thinking about Research:
This week we are going to look at some information about sea turtles. They are water creatures that are very interesting. Research is an important skill, finding information and creating something to show what you know is a skill you will use over and over in school. Practice with this fun topic or choose a sea animal that interests you!
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Exploring Water Sports:
Are you someone that lives for adventure? There are lots of water sports and activities that people love to do! Dig deeper into them by reading this article.
When you are done, make an advertisement convincing people to try your sport! You can make it online in a google slide or offline on paper. Be sure you give information about what you need to participate in the sport and why it is fun and adventurous! Use persuasive and descriptive words in your ad. |
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More about Sea Turtles:
What can you find out about sea turtles? Check out some of these sites and do some research on sea turtles.
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Video Star:
Think about presenting your information about water sports in a different way! Make an infomercial (a commercial that is longer and provides more information than an ad) about your water sport! Make it fun and entertaining! You might even want to find some props around the house. If you can get someone to film it that would be great! If not, just have fun making a pretend video! You might even become the next YouTube sensation…. with your parents' permission of course! |
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More Animal Research
What other animals live in the ocean that interest you? Visit the NatGeo Kids Animal website or our Gale Library Database (password is: learn) to do some research!
Then either:
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Math Activities
| K-2 | 3-6 |
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Water Measurement!
Parents - Fill various plastic containers with exactly 2 cups of water each. You can even add food coloring to make each look different. Ask your child to guess which container they think holds the most water. Take turns pouring the water back into the measuring cup. Kids are often surprised to discover that each container holds exactly the same amount!
How can this be? Volume is the amount of space something takes up - and a liquid takes the shape of its container. Two containers can hold the same amount of liquid – but it looks different depending on how wide or tall the container is.
Activity from themeasuredmom.com
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Greater Than or Less Than!
Using your dice in dice, roll two at a time. You can play the game with either adding or multiplying.
Once you have done your math, determine which die has the greater total or product. You can even use one of your small cards to make a greater than and less than symbol and practice writing an equation each time.! Remember the symbols
Example:
Die 1 has a 6 on the inside and a 1 on the outside.
Die 2 has a 4 on the inside and a 2 on the outside
Adding
Multiplying
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Math & Water Play Activities
In these activities from Counting with Kids, you get to play with water and practice counting at the same time! Try a few… Have fun!
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Double Dice Wars
Use double dice to play a new version of the classic card game War. Each player rolls a die. Then, use one of these methods to determine who wins the round and gets a point:
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Puzzles and Games!
- Water Relay: Using small beach buckets, try to transfer enough water to fill a 5-gallon bucket from a shallow pool. Kids will love racing against each other to get their bucket filled first.
- Balloon on a Spoon:
Swap an egg race for a balloon race when you try to balance a small water balloon on a small spoon. Teams will race against each other to see who can make it through the obstacle course first without breaking their balloon. If you drop your balloon but it doesn’t break, you may pick it up but you have to go back to the beginning of the race
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Math and Science Activities for Ages 3-6 Use these with water! |
Fun games with water balloons! |
Try this science experiment to see what happens! |
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Try this water experiment and make music! |
Fun way to review and make words! |
Can you make beans dance? Try this! |
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Kid Games - Water Use it Wisely! Try these computer games about water conservation! |
Hands on Water Activities for Pre-K-1 These simple but fun activities are for young learners! |
An activity for an engineer in the making! Fun and low cost! |
Week 4: June 28 - July 2 - CELEBRATE THE 4TH OF JULY!
Celebrate the 4th of July!
This next week we will be celebrating America’s birthday! It is called Independence Day and we celebrate the birth of our nation on July 4th each year. We celebrate with fireworks, parades, and family parties. The United States of America (USA) wasn’t always its own country. We used to belong to England. But we wanted to make our own rules and not pay taxes to a King, so we signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, which meant that we could be our own country and not be ruled by another one. Then we fought and won the Revolutionary War against England and officially became a new country. That’s why we call Independence Day America’s birthday! How will you celebrate on Sunday, July 4th? Ask your mom, dad, grandparent, aunt, uncle or another adult you know how they used to celebrate when they were a kid like you. Compare what they did and what your family plans to do! Hope you enjoy fireworks, food, and fun with family and friends!
There are not very many academic challenges this week. It is more activities you might do to remember and celebrate Independence Day. I hope you enjoy some of the family fun activities and games and puzzles I shared this week. I hope you are enjoying these summer challenges!
Reading Materials
| K-2 Read-Aloud Videos | | | 3-6 Nonfiction Article | | | 3-6 Epic Collection* |
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| Daniel's First Fireworks | | | Independence Day | | | July 4th Collection |
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| 4th of July For Kids | | | | |
To access the Epic collection, go to the link above and use the code: jtu1761
Then search and choose the student's name.
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| F is for Flag | | | | | ||
Reading Activities
| Daniel’s First Fireworks | The 4th of July for Kids! | F is for Flag |
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Have you ever been a little bit scared when you see or hear something you have never seen or heard before? Daniel and Margaret have a picnic outside with mom and dad and get to experience something for the first time.
Think of something you did for the very first time. How did you feel about it? Share your feelings after you read or listen to the story! |
Listen as grandpa tells a story about how America got its freedom.
Think about 3 new things you learned.
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Learn about our American flag by listening to or reading this story.
Tell someone about the first flag of the USA and the one we have now. How are they different? Does someone in your family call you a nickname? Listen carefully to see if you can find out what are some of the nicknames for our flag? |
| Independence Day |
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In this Newsela article, you will find out why we celebrate this special day. Why did Americans want to be free? What were some of the complaints they had about King George and England?
Read to learn more about this celebration!
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Math Activities
| K-6 |
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4th of July Math Problems!
Can you solve these math problems inspired by America’s birthday?
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USA Themed Math
If you want to do some USA-themed math, this link will provide you with activities from K-6th grade.
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Math War
Use your cards in your learning packet to play war - not the Revolutionary War but Math war! Click on this link to find out how to play! Math War - 3 Different Ways to Play!
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Puzzles and Games!
- Simple printable 4th of July Puzzles (PreK - 1)
- Tracing and Cutting Practice (PreK - 1)
- 4th of July Logic Puzzle and Sudoku Puzzles (2 - 6: Solutions can be found here.)
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Playdough to Plato - 25 USA Themed Activities
Week 5: July 12-16 - LET'S GO CAMPING!
Let's Go Camping!
This week we are planning a camping trip! Can’t really go to a campsite or an outdoor spot? That’s OK, you can camp out right in your backyard, or even in your living room if it is too hot outside! This week you will find stories, reading and math activities as well as art and craft ideas, puzzles, and games. I hope you enjoy your activities this week!
Reading Materials
| K-2 Read-Aloud Videos | | | 3-6 Nonfiction Articles | | | 3-6 Epic Collection* |
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| Pete the Cat Goes Camping | | | Hear Me Croak! | | | Camping Collection |
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| A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee | | | Tree Tents | | |
To access the Epic collection, go to the link above and use the code: jtu1761
Then search and choose the student's name.
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| The Camping Trip | | | State Parks | | | |
Reading Activities
| Pete the Cat Goes Camping | A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee | The Camping Trip |
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In this story, Pete goes camping for the very first time! He has lots of fun and even makes s’mores, a common camping treat! He gets quite a surprise when the creature he learns about actually visits his campsite! Read this story to find out who visits Pete and his friends! |
This story is a fun one to read! It is a rhyming book. Read this book with someone!
As you do, read the challenge below to see how many pairs you can find!
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In this story, cousins go camping together! They take a lot of supplies and do all kinds of activities!
As you read this book, try to remember at least 5 things they do. Then try this category challenge! |
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Unscramble & Details Challenge! How many details can you recall from the story? Try this comprehension challenge!
These letters are all mixed up, but when put in the right order they make words! Can you try and unscramble these words? |
Rhyming Pairs
As you read this book with someone or by yourself, find the rhyming pairs. Remember rhyming words have the same ending. They start with different sounds but end the same.
Here are some examples! dog-log can-fan Big-pig
Can you make up some rhyming pairs to practice after you find some in the story? |
What Goes Together?
Categories are groups of things that go together in some way. Think about all the things you can think of that are red… Fire truck, apples, lipstick, shirt, bow, wagon, bike, hair, strawberries, etc…. Now let’s try and put these things into categories… Things with wheels - fire truck, wagon, bike, Things you can wear - shirt, bow, lipstick Things you can eat - apples, strawberries Now you try it with the camping pictures on the first two pages of the story! The pages are orange. Write your categories in your notebook! |
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ABC Order Challenge
Here is a list of vocabulary words from the story, can you put them in alphabetical order. If you want to copy them on your index cards from your packet you can! If not, you can write them in your notebook! Have someone check to see if you got them right!
camping, sleeping, hiking, boots, campsite, tent, fire, footprints, animals, fishing, dinner, marshmallow, dark, story, Bigfoot, woods, Pete, Bob, noise, scary |
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Create Your Own Monster!
Big Foot was the monster that Pete thinks ate his s'more… can you create your own silly, hairy monster, just a pretend one that you might like to meet and eat a s'more or other sweet treat with! Use your notebook to draw your new friend! |
| Hear Me Croak! | Tree Tents | State Parks |
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This article is all about observing wildlife in their natural habitat. Frogs are the topic of this article, although the activities included also give you a method to observe other animals as well.
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Have you ever wondered what it might be like to sleep in a tree? Here is some information about how you can make that happen! In this article, you will read about tree tents and how they are becoming more popular. This adventure can let you know exactly what it feels like to sleep in a tree! |
This article encourages kids to get off the couch, quit playing video games, and go outside!
State Parks are a national treasure! There are so many State Parks in the US, you could visit almost any state and find one!
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Animal Spotting
After you complete reading this article, try the activity at the bottom of the article called Animal Spotting.
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Text Messages!
Sending a text message is an easy method of brief communication. Read a short paragraph and then “text-message” the most important details and an image to another person in your family.
If you don’t want to send a real text message, just write one. You can even write it on this text message page.
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State Park Chat
Read this article and then have a discussion with someone in your family about what you could actually do in a State Park to help.
You might even want to do some research on a State Park near Lorena. Is there one? |
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Life Cycle
Explore the life cycle of a frog.
Create a diagram that shows what this life cycle looks like. A diagram is a picture or group of pictures organized together.
You can find all of the information you need about the parts of the life cycle of a frog in the article. |
Design a Tree Tent!
Are you a designer that hasn’t been discovered yet?
In your notebook, draw a unique tree tent with any special features you might think would be helpful to let you sleep in a tree! |
In this activity, you will do a little research. Using the map on this site, try and find State Parks in at least 5 states. Write the names of them in your notebook and then find out a little bit about them. Where are they located? What kinds of activities can you do there? Can you camp there? Do they have cabins or do you need to camp in a tent? Can you camp in a tree?
If you want to go even further with this activity, make a poster about your State Park that you select from the five you explored! ‘
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Math Activities
| K-2 | 3-6 |
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Number Roll: Roll several dice (you decide the number – anywhere from 5 to 10 dice) at the same time. Find numbers that match and pair them up. Keep rolling until you have made matches/pairs and all the dice are gone.
Combos of 10: Roll 10 dice all together (you can use any number of dice). The player who calls out or pulls out combinations of 10 first gets to keep those dice. Keep rolling and calling out combinations of 10 (for example: 5 + 5; 6 + 4; 7 + 3…) until all the dice are gone.
Gameboard Math: Using the gameboard in your packet, put it into the plastic sleeve. Using the wipe off marker, start with a number, in the first space. Then choose the operation, add or subtract. Put in a second number and complete the operation. Go all the way to the end, and feel free to mix up the operation.
Go Fishing for Pairs that make 10: Your kids probably already know how to play Go Fish, but in this version, they’re fishing for pairs that add up to 10. Have them ask: “I have a 2. Do you have an 8 to make 10?” Change aces to 1 for this game and leave face cards out entirely. |
Odd/Even Dice: Decide ahead of the game who is "odd" and who is "even." Each player rolls 1 die, and adds them to find the sum. If the sum is even, the "even" player gets a point; if it's odd, the "odd" player gets a point. Next time, roll 2 dice each. Add to find the sums individually. If there are 2 odd numbers the "odd" player get 2 points; if there is 1 odd and 1 even, each player gets 1 point; and so on. The first player to 10 (set any goal) is the winner!
Addition Dice War: Using 2 dice each, players roll to find the greatest sum. Keep track of points using tally marks. The first player to 10 tallies wins! Variations: Play to find the lowest sum; use 3 dice instead of 2.
Subtraction Dice: Using 3 dice (2 are red and 1 is white -- or any color combination you want) roll the two red dice to create a number: say you roll a 4 and 7 – this can be 47 or 74 – player's choice. Roll the white die and subtract that number from the "red" number created. Encourage this to be done mentally, even if children need to regroup. We want to encourage mental math and build confidence even with large numbers.
Multi-step Dice: Use 3 or more dice with different colors – the players decide the rules ahead of time. If using 3 dice, try 2 green and 1 blue. Each player rolls all 3 dice at once, and has to add the 2 green and subtract the 1 blue mentally. If you get an answer less than 0 (negative number) just call that answer "a number less than zero" which has 0 points. Keep score depending on the larger or smaller answer. |
Puzzles and Games!
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Try this scavenger hunt to see how many of these things you can find! Try it at night with a flashlight!
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Make shadow puppets.
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Go for a nighttime walk.
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Play flashlight tag.
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Play hide and seek in the dark.
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Go for a midnight swim.
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Study the stars.
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Fun Family Outdoor Camping Games More fun family outdoor camping games! |
Make a tasty snack and learn about campfire safety at the same time! |
Making S'mores with the Campfire Kids Making S'mores is so much fun and so good too! Try this with your family!!! |
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Fun in the dark with glowing water bottles, have fun with the bottles or use them for a bowling game while in the backyard or camping! |
A really fun resource for making all kinds of shadow puppets! Read this simple” how to” article and then try it! |
Here are 23 more fun craft ideas based on our camping theme this week! |
Week 6: July 19 - 23 - THE OLYMPICS!
Let's Learn about the Olympics!
In just a few short days the 2021 Summer Olympic games will begin! It is an exciting time as athletes from all over the world compete to win gold, silver, and bronze medals for the country they represent! Team USA is going through the Olympic trials right now to see who will be competing for the medals in Tokyo. The games will start on Friday, July 23, 2021, and end on Sunday, August 8, 2021. Can you figure out how many days the games will last? These activities below give you information about the Olympic Games. You can use this information to do some of the Tic Tac Toe activities for reading and math! Explore what you are most interested in! If you are little and the reading is too hard, find a family member to help and explore together!!!
Reading Materials
| K-2 Read-Aloud Videos | | | 3-6 Nonfiction Articles | | | 3-6 Epic Collection* |
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| She's Got This | | | The Sky's the Limit | | | Olympics Collection |
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| The Olympics | | | Sport Climbing | | |
To access the Epic collection, go to the link above and use the code: jtu1761
Then search and choose the student's name.
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| Olympig | | | Olympic Medals | | | |
Olympic Activities!
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Create an Emblem for the Olympic Games If you wanted to create an emblem for the Olympic Games what would it look like? Where would your games take place? Design an emblem for your imaginary Olympics. Draw it in your notebook.
This is the current Olympic emblem.
What do you notice about it? If you want to know more about this, click here: The Olympic Emblem |
What do the Olympic Rings Represent? Find information here: All About the Olympic Rings Draw a picture of the Olympic rings in your notebook. Explain to someone in your family what the rings represent.
Why are they the colors that they are? |
Tokyo - The Host City In this activity, you can find out more about the host city of Tokyo. You can use this information in the activities in the Reading Tic Tac Toe board below.
Start your search here: All About Tokyo the Host City of the 2021 Olympics
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Sports in the Summer Olympics What sports do the athletes compete in during the games? Go to this site to find out what games will be included in the Summer Olympics. Summer Games
This site uses a graphic organizer to show you what games are included in the Summer Olympics. Do you think this is easy to read? |
Find out all about the Olympic flame and how it travels to the games. You might want to make a torch, the directions are in the Family Fun section.
You can use it then for your backyard Olympics! |
The Ancient Games and the Modern Games To find out more about the Ancient Olympics and how they started, click here: Ancient Olympic Games
To find out more about the Modern Olympic Games click here: Modern Olympic Games Compare and contrast the Ancient and Modern Games
What is the same and what differences did you discover? Make a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast! Draw it on the sidewalk with your sidewalk chalk or put it in your notebook. If you don’t want to make a diagram just make a list! |
Reading Activities
| She's Got This | The Olympics | Olympig |
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In this story, you can discover how one famous gymnast worked hard to become the best she could be. Enjoy this story based on a real-life person! |
This non-fiction book gives you details about the Olympics. It is filled with fun facts and information that you will want to know! |
In this story, you find out about a character named Olympig. He tries lots of things, and struggles to find something he is best at! Do you ever feel like that? |
| The Sky's the Limit | Sport Climbing | Olympic Medals |
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A skateboarding star talks about her favorite sport and her dreams for the future! Will they include the Olympic games one day?
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A new sport will be part of this year’s Olympic Games. Find out about a 14-year old who is climbing to the top of his sport! | This year in Tokyo the medals will be different. Read this article to find how! You might be surprised... |
| Create a newscast about the Olympic Games. It can be about how they started, a particular sport or anything else that interests you! Then pretend you are a reporter and share it with your family or friends! |
A brochure gives you the most important information about a topic. You can use the information you found in the first activities to make a brochure about the Olympics, it can be about anything connected to the Games.
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Find out more about Tokyo where the 2021 Summer Games will be held. Make a sign or poster that shows what you found out about the Host City for the summer games. |
| Find at least 5 new vocabulary words connected to the Olympics, think about some like venue, the host city, etc, and explain to someone what they mean. |
Explore what sports are held during the summer games and make a picture or chart that shows that information in an easy-to-see way! This is called a graphic organizer!
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Make an ABC Chart with worlds that are connected to the Olympic Games… for example - A - athlete. See if you can find at least one word for each letter A-Z. |
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Pretend that you are a TV reporter and you are interviewing a gold medal winner. What questions might you ask them? See if you can get a family member to be the athlete and ask them those questions you came up with! |
Can you find 5 cities that have hosted the Olympics in the past? Locate them on a world map or globe. Figure out what continent they are on and in what country the games were held.
See the table below in Resources to find out where the Summer Games have been held. |
Olympic athletes are committed to doing whatever it takes to get ready to compete in the games. What qualities do you think these men and women need to have in order to be successful? Discuss these personal characteristics or traits with your family. Are there some you all agree on? |
Math Activities
| All Grade Levels |
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Activity: Tracking Medal Count You won’t be able to do this activity until the games actually begin, but you can count the number of medals the USA wins in different sports and then graph them! Here is a chart to help you do that! |
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Activity: How Far Can You Jump? Are you a Future Track Star? Go outside and find a sidewalk or driveway that you can long jump on. Make a starting line with your sidewalk chalk. Then stand behind the line and jump as far as you can. Measure it and jump 3 more times. Which jump was the longest? If you are in grades 3-5 or want a challenge, measure all 4 jumps and find an average. Ask an adult to help you do that. (Hint: Add all 4 jump lengths and divide by 4 to find the average!)
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Activity: My Schedule of Events! Choose 4 events that interest you and watch them. Use this recording sheet and fill out the results.
You can find the entire schedule of events here:
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Activity: Challenge Using the chart in the Resources section below, can you find a math pattern in that chart? Tell someone what you notice about when the Summer Olympics are held.
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Family Fun Activities!
Check out this site for all kinds of games and activities that are Olympic themed. Try some of them with your family.
National Geographic Fun Pack for Kids!
Try the activities in this super fun packet for kids about sports!
11 Easy Olympic Crafts for Kids
Try making some of these crafts including; Click the link above to explore these activities.
- Olympics Ring Craft
- Lego Ring Sorting
- “O” is for Olympics
- DIY Olympic Eyeglasses
- Olympic Rings Sun Catcher Craft
- Handprint Medals
- Dixie Cup Kids Olympic Craft
- Torch for the Opening ceremony
- Olympic Paper Chain Countdown
- Olympic Paper Laurel Wreath
- DIY Olympics Medals
20 Backyard Olympic Games for Kids
Try some of these fun backyard games and create your own Olympics!
Check out these ideas to make 7 different types of medals to use in your own backyard Olympic games. There are some you can eat! How fun!
Here is how to make your own Olympic torch to use in your backyard games!
Problem Solving and Puzzles
Resources: Summer Olympics Host Cities
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Olympiad |
Host city |
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1896 |
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1900 |
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1904 |
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1906 |
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1908 |
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1912 |
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1916 |
Canceled because of World War I |
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1920 |
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1924 |
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1928 |
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1932 |
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1936 |
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1940 |
Canceled because of World War II |
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1944 |
Canceled because of World War II |
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1948 |
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1952 |
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1956 |
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1960 |
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1964 |
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1968 |
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1972 |
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1976 |
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1980 |
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1984 |
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1988 |
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1992 |
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1996 |
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2000 |
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2004 |
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2008 |
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2012 |
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2016 |
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2020 |
Postponed because of COVID-19 |
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Additional Resources
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Dolch Sight Words
The Dolch Sight Words list is the most commonly used set of sight words. Educator Dr. Edward William Dolch developed the list in the 1930s-40s by studying the most frequently occurring words in children’s books of that era. The list contains 220 “service words” plus 95 high-frequency nouns. These words comprise 80% of the words you would find in a typical children’s book and 50% of the words found in writing for adults. Once a child knows this list of words, it makes reading much easier, because the child can then focus his or her attention on the remaining words.
The Dolch words are commonly divided into groups by grade level, ranging from pre-kindergarten to third grade, with a separate list of nouns. There are a total of 315 Dolch Sight Words. |
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| PreK | K | 1 | 2 | 3 | Nouns |