A Message from our Family Literacy Specialist:
Hello Families,
Summer is quickly approaching and soon your child will be away from school and the classroom for several months. You may feel a sense of anxiety about how to occupy their time, how to keep them busy, or how to keep them learning over the summer. Hearing these concerns, educator and public speaker, Jocelynn Hubbard suggests creating a culturally responsive summer schedule for your child’s summer break. Hubbard explains, “A huge part of culturally responsive learning is allowing students to take ownership of their learning, foster independence, develop problem solving and critical thinking skills in order to critically assess the world around them” (Hubbard, 2021).
In order to find a balance of both a restful and productive summer Hubbard suggests first co-creating an ideal schedule with your child by considering some of the following topics together:
Reading/Books
How much time is spent learning something new or practicing new skills?
Screen Time?
Outside Time?
Activities?
Friends?
Once your child has created their ideal summer schedule you can have a conversation to consider the unique needs and priorities of your family as well as work and childcare schedules to create a realistic summer plan for your family. This will require conversations about motivation, compromise, and budgets that are important for your child to hear and understand (Hubbard, 2021). It will help them to feel a sense of ownership and control of their summer schedule and learning. Each family’s schedule will be different and may change depending on the day or week as well as work and childcare needs. Cocreate a schedule that works best for your family’s needs!
Sample Schedule
Time: | Activity: |
7:00 | Wake up, get dressed, have breakfast |
8:00 | Morning Chores |
9:00 | Independent Play Time and Snack |
11:00 | Morning Learning (Ex. reading, art, online learning tools) |
12:00 | Eat Lunch |
1:00 | Quiet Time (rest, nap, listen to a podcast or audiobook) |
2:00 | Get Outside or Go Somewhere (Ex. park, pool, bike ride) |
4:00 | Screen Time and Snack |
5:30 | Eat Dinner |
6:30 | Family Time/Evening Activities (Ex. baseball practice, play outside) |
8:00 | Bedtime Routine (Bath/Shower, Read, Snack, Lights Out) |
To learn about Hubbard’s approach to a culturally responsive summer schedule click here for more insight and resources. Remember a family is a child’s first and best teacher. However you choose to set up your summer, we hope you have an opportunity to celebrate all of your child’s growth this school year. We look forward to your continued partnership next year!
Kindly,
Lexi Lundberg, Family Engagement Specialist
Phone: (218) 284-6376 Email: alundberg@moorheadschools.org
References:
Hubbard, J. (2021, June 24). How to create a culturally responsive summer schedule at home:
the secret sauce. Custom Teaching Solutions. https://customteachingsolutions.com/how-to-create-a-culturally-responsive-summer-schedule-at-home-the-secret-sauce/