Educational Games to Play Outdoors

Here in this dyslexia blog are some ideas about educational games to play outdoors in the summer :

Schools in Turkey will soon start the long 3 month summer holiday .In the summer kids will naturally spend more of their time outdoors playing. Dyslexic kids certainly benefit from a break from school; however in order not too forget skills learnt ;it is important that children undertake some learning activities on a regular basis.

One interesting approach, is to practice maths and literacy skills outside, through physical games . This approach encourages both sides of the brain to work, as the one side focuses on the physical movements and the other side has to come up with the answers. Also adding movement makes learning seem like more fun.

Running games
Carol Goodrow, who was trained as an Orton Gillingham Tutor, specializing in learning disabilities ,has an interesting site called Kids Running.com. It includes outlines of a number of different educational running games children can play such as :

Get even
Fractions
Sight word scramble
Run to Spell

Also she suggests cutting up maths worksheets and clipping them onto clipboards.Kids then run to the clipboard and do the problem after finally running back with their finished work to have it checked. You could test grammar,spellings etc using the same approach.

The games are designed for whole classes to do but you could adapt them .

http://www.kidsrunning.com/krschoolgames.html


Ball Games
You can shout out an adjective to your child while throwing a ball to them .Your child will then give the correct synonym or antonym and throw back the ball .
You could adapt this game to practice all sorts of grammar points eg different tenses, It could also be used to test maths skills eg multiplication , addition etc.The options are endless.

Pavement Chalk Maths
Get your child to solve problems on the pavement instead of on paper to make it more fun.

Maths hopscotch.
Put numbers into hopscotch squares. Call out a problem in addition, subtraction, multiplication, division etc and have your child hop to the two numbers in the problem and then the answer. ( NB :make sure numbers are accessible to each other).

Times Table Aerobics
Choose a times table you want to practice with your son or daughter .Decide with your child on some aerobics movements to do eg jogging on the spot , touching toes , twisting from side to side etc.
After your child can chant their tables while completing the aerobics moves.

Maths Twister
Adapt your twister game by putting numbers on your Twister board. After you can make up problems for your child to solve eg 5x 8, 5+ 8 etc
Make it harder or easier depending on the age or level of your child .

If you don’t have Twister you could make your own from 20 A4 pages joined together with the numbers 1-20 clearly written on them (place them in 4 rows of 5).The children are then told instructions such as " Put your left foot on the answer of 3 add 5" and so on Repeat until the child has 2 feet and hands on the numbers.

Flash card games -Make up two different sets of coloured flash cards to make a matching card game eg opposites, fractions and decimals etc etc.
Tie some string strategically around your garden. After use clothes pegs to attach the flash cards to the string. Have your child find the matching cards.

Make up a treasure hunt – write some problems on cards for your child to solve and also explain where the next clue can be find – If you child gets the right answers give a small reward or treat in the end.

On the Wirral Learning Grid there is a very useful booklet giving suggestions of maths games “Some Activities for the Kinaesthetic Learner in Primary Education”
It is geared for classroom use but some of the games could be adapted.

www.wirral-mbc.gov.uk/maths/index.asp

Here are some other sites which give practical ideas for teachers to integrate physical activity into lessons:

www.activeacademics.org

This site is from the North Carolina Physical Education Dept - It contains Primary and Middle School Energizers.

www.ncpe4me.com

For some Kinesthetic Language Learning ideas from
Susan Kramer : Learning Disabilities Site : Bella Online go to :

www.bellaonline.com/articles/art14894.asp

In Turkey lessons are generally conducted in a traditional manner.Children are required to sit still in their seats for long hours. It would be good however if teachers could in-corporate some physical activity into their lessons in order to re-vitalize students and aid learning. Many of the approaches good for kids with learning disabilities are also beneficial to ALL kids.... We drastically need a change in attitude towards learning in Turkish schools ............

Parents and teachers be creative and make up your own ideas !!

REWARD CHARTS

Especially during a long school holiday it is difficult to motivate your dyslexic child to carry out reading and school work. As I know from experience ,it is easy to get into a battle with your child over school assignments given during the holiday.As a parent you know that is crucial children go over skills learnt but often it is difficult to get your child to stick to a schedule !! One option is to use a reward chart to help motivate your child.

REWARD CHART

A reward chart is an tool to encourage your child to carry out a certain task eg completing homework , checking their school bag every evening . When a child performs the desired behavior, it gets marked off on their chart. After enough checks, the child receives a reward.

WHY USE A REWARD CHART ?

They can help to stop the cycle of arguing and telling off that it is so easy to fall into as parents. A reward chart provides a really positive way (using encouragement and praise) to encourage good behaviour, for example to get your child to complete homework tasks on time .

You can either buy or make a reward chart . On the internet you can find reward chart templates. ( search under free printable behaviour sheets )

In Turkey they are not so easy to find but I did manage to buy one produced by the ELC ( Early Learning Centre) from Leonardini .

http://www.leonardini.com.tr/


HOW TO MAKE A CHART

Get creative and make a chart together with your child based on something your child likes eg Ben Ten, Sponge Bob ...

On a large piece of card write down on the side a list of all the things you want to reward your child on .

Across the top have each day of the week.

Then at the bottom of each day note a reward they will get if he complete the tasks .

Also, if you wish, to make a note of a big reward the will get if they complete all the tasks for the whole week. This will give them a goal to work towards.

Buy or make some stickers to put on the chart.

Get your chart laminated so that you can re-use it .

SOME IDEAS FOR REWARDS

Trip to the cinema, a new toy, cook their favourite meal, bake a cake etc, a new book or magazine, later bedtime, trip to the zoo or museum.
You could even ask your child to give some suggestions ( within reason !!).
N.B Don't just make the treats all of monetary value.

EFFECT OF SCHOOL HOLIDAYS ON SCHOOL WORK

A long summer vacation does not represent just a pause in student learning but actually causes many students to forget what they have learned. !!

In 1996 researchers analyzed 39 studies of summer vacation’s effect on achievement test scores.
(The Effects of Summer Vacation on Achievement Test ScoresCooper et al. Review of Educational Research - 1996; 66: pages 227-268)

They concluded that, on average, students lose at least one month of learning during the summer. Students lose ground in both reading and math, but the loss typically is greater in maths.

Struggling students are worse effected UNLESS they can use summer to narrow the gap, or they will start the next year even farther behind their peers than they were at the end of the previous year. Without the opportunity to make progress in summer, their chances of ever catching up will get slimmer and slimmer.

Turkish schools have 3 months summer holiday unlike the UK where the holidays are more scattered throughout the year – with only 6 wks summer holiday.
Children, especially those with LD need to read regularly throughout the summer break and also go over topics they have learnt in the yr, especially maths , in order to maintain their progress and to ensure they don’t fall behind.

Of course, it is also important to not to overdo it and also to make sure the children also have a holiday as well!! Try to get your child to practice skills in a more fun way - using games , using the computer etc...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO EVERYONE !!