This Summer activity book DIY might save my sanity for the next 9 weeks. I’m not really kidding. The month of May was so insanely over-scheduled and hectic it seemed the last day of school would never arrive. Then WHAM! The kids are home and it’s head first into swim team and t-ball and worrying about the infamous “Summer Slide”. It’s a thing, the “Summer Slide”, the thing where kids lose some of their academic skills over the summer. Turns out it’s legit–according to my resident expert and professional educator who happens to be my husband. The good news is a little bit of reading and writing over the summer can kick it to the curb.
So, school ended in a flury and frenzy and I realized I needed to come up with a strategy for keeping their brains busy and strong, not to mention keeping their mouths quite and bodies still for a precious few minutes. And I had to do it quick. Really quick. That’s how this no-frills, easy Summer activity book DIY was born. Or, rather, printed off, hole punched, and thrown in a binder. Made almost entirely of stuff I had on hand or could quickly print, for my little boys age 7 and 5. I included math, reading, geography, and handwriting, plus a few games like mazes and word searches, and blank paper and basic art supplies. Call it a workbook if you want–I didn’t dare.
What you’ll need for to throw together custom design your own Summer Activity Book:
a 3 ring binder for each child
tab dividers for each subject (optional)
sheet protectors for re-usable worksheets
dry erase marker for re-usable activities
any worksheets, flashcards, mazes, templates, etc. you have on hand or print from various websites
(a few suggestions for free printables, to get started: mr. printables, scholastic.com, confessions of a homeschooler, mathsalamanders.com)
basic school supplies: crayons, pencils, erasers, ruler, scissors
If you like, engage the kids and let them decorate the exterior of the binder. Then, label your subjects on the tab dividers, and place your activities and worksheets in the appropriate sections. Or skip the tabs and just mix it up a bit, like I did, and let the kiddos work page by page. I included math worksheets and games, handwriting practice sheets, poems to memorize, some geography activities, mazes, dot-to-dots, and blank drawing paper. All of it free and easy to find, whether online or via a teacher friend/relative. We’ve been keeping our books and supplies in a portable bin so we can easily use them anywhere in the yard or house.
2 weeks in, and there has been no grumbling whatsoever about doing a few pages in their Summer activity book every day (well, most days anyway). They actually-dare I say–enjoy it and I know it gets our day started right. These are also totally great for taking along on road trips. Just add a little binder pouch for crayons and pencils! 
How do you keep your little ones’ minds busy during the summer?
*disclaimer: I’m married to a professional educator who has access to endless quantities info and printable activities in every subject, for multiple grade levels, which was very very helpful in putting this project together. Ask your teacher friends to help!
Kimberly
...by day, making a home where the buffalo roam. By night, pretty much the same thing, punctuated by the occasional fantasies of sunny beaches, italian movies and sparkling lemonade.
