PUSD Offers Summer Learning Tips

The Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) offers useful tips and resources for families to keep children engaged in learning during summer vacation.

“As a teacher and administrator, I worried about my students as each summer vacation approached,” said PUSD Superintendent Jon R. Gundry who spent 16 years as a classroom teacher. “Without activities to keep them learning, students would forget the material they learned the previous school year, stop practicing important study skills and lose ground. Students who struggle in particular subjects can fall even further behind during the summer, leading to a widening of the achievement gap. That’s why it is important for families to keep children engaged in fun activities that encourage learning during the long summer vacation.”

Although PUSD only offers a limited summer school program for credit recovery because of ongoing budget cuts, other organizations in the community offer learning resources for district families.Pasadena LEARNs offers five weeks of summer activities. Visit www.gopusd.com/learns for information. The Pasadena Educational Foundation (www.pasedfoundation.org) offers academics and enrichment for all grade levels. The City of Pasadena Human Services and Recreation Department (www.cityofpasadena.net), the City of Sierra Madre (www.cityofsierramadre.com) and the parks and libraries of Los Angeles County (www.lacounty.gov) offers activities and resources for youth this summer.

Free breakfast and lunch will be available for children and youth 18 years old or younger this summer through the 2012 Summer Food Program. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and PUSD’s food services division and operated by PUSD, the City of Pasadena and other organizations, the free meals will be served at schools, parks and other sites throughout Pasadena, Altadena and Sierra Madre. Participants must eat all meals at the site; additional rules will be posted. For more information, call PUSD Food Services at (626) 396-5850.

To help keep children engaged in learning this summer, here are some tips from PUSD and the California Department of Education:

Top 10 Tips for Summer Learning

1. Encourage Reading.  Help establish a love of reading at an early age. Reading helps improve writing and communication skills as well as improve learning throughout the summer. Recommended reading lists are available on the California Department of Education’s (CDE) literature database. Take your children to the public library where they can obtain their own library cards, learn how to find books, and check them out free of charge. The Pasadena public libraries offer free summer reading programs.

2. Participate in Community Summer Programs.  Many local organizations offer interesting summer events, such as art classes, music, cooking, sports, free concerts, and summer camps. Pasadena LEARNs, the Pasadena Educational Foundation’s Summer Program and the City of Pasadena’s Summer Recreational program offer a variety of classes for K-12 students, from robotics to art and high school credit courses. Scholarships available.

3. Encourage the Use of Math. Give your child practical experience using mathematics at home. Put your preschool child’s counting ability to work. In preparation for meals, let the child count out the number of forks or dinner napkins needed for the table, the number of servings from a meal, or any other quantity. Mention the size of containers, such as pints of cream and half gallons of milk. Allow your child to measure ingredients when you cook or add up costs when shopping.

4. Encourage Creativity With Art.  Keep your child supplied with sheets of paper, crayons, finger paints, modeling clay, burlap, paste, marking pens, scraps of cloth, yarn, scraps of wood, and water colors. Provide a workspace for your child and encourage the creation of works of art. Proudly display your child’s best creations on the wall, door, or bulletin board. Give frequent opportunities for the expression of artistic ability, like making birthday and greeting cards. Encourage help with holiday decorations.  Encourage musical activity in the home or on family trips. Let the child be a music maker as well as a listener. A toy piano, drum, tuned bells, or harmonica can help teach the rudiments of rhythm and tone.

5. Have Fun With Science. Work with your child on projects such as making bird feeders, caring for pets, setting up a home weather station, observing the night sky and preparing a family vegetable or flower garden. Talk with your child’s science teacher and get useful tips to help you reinforce your child’s formal science training. Summer is an ideal time to visit museums and zoos in your community. Many of these are free or low cost for young children.

6. Get Active.  Many low-cost summer programs are available for your children through the City of Pasadena, summer LEARNs and other organizations. Check for recreation and education opportunities like youth sports leagues, swimming, baseball, basketball, soccer, cheerleading, tennis, dance, drama, the arts, sports for children using wheelchairs, enrichment classes, concerts, and other youth programs.

7. Volunteer For a Good Cause.  Homeless shelters, animal shelters, and senior community centers often need volunteer help. For example, teenagers can explore animal-related careers while gaining work experience, and help teach children and families about animals, the environment, and conservation.

8. Start Writing. To encourage creative writing, jot down stories your child tells or songs they make up. Show them to the child later. Suggest they be illustrated and “published” for grandparents or other relatives as gifts.

9. Encourage Social Studies. Discuss current events.  Read newspapers and periodicals. Watch the local and national newscasts. Provide your child with social studies research materials, including a dictionary, atlas, globe, and almanac. A map of the city and road maps are excellent for plotting trips and helping the child understand geographic relationships. Keep the research items conveniently close to the TV for use during news and documentary programs.

10. Helping Out at Home. Teaching children early and often about doing chores around the house helps them learn important skills like cooperation, teamwork, fairness, patience, responsibility, and values.  It also helps free up some time so you can just enjoy being with your children.