ULTIMATE PARENTS GUIDE TO SUMMER LAUNCHES ON SCHOLASTIC.COM
Summer Activity Guide on www.scholastic.com Offers Parents and Families Ways to Keep Summer Days Full of Fun
New York,
NY (May
29,
2002) --
Schools out, summer is here and parents/caregivers are seeking new and exciting ways to keep their children learning while having fun. To help parents prepare for summer downtime with their kids, Scholastic.com has launched a brand new Summer Activity Guide located at www.scholastic.com. The site offers a great selection of "edutaining" activities kids can do outdoors, indoors or while traveling, plus a recommended reading list of 202 books for 2002, categorized by age group (Pre-K - Grade 3 and Grade 4 - 8) to ensure age-appropriate reading.
"Summertime can mean lots of downtime and parents are always in need of creative ideas to keep their kids intellectually stimulated," stated Judsen Culbreth, Vice President and Editorial Director of Scholastic Family Custom Publishing and mother of two. "We created the Summer Activity Guide as a resource for parents to help make this summer fun, educational and boredom-free for the entire family."
Below are some of Scholastic's "Hot" summer ideas for parents/caregivers. Log-on to the Summer Activity Guide at www.scholastic.com/smartparenting/summerguide for more tips and activities:
Summer Fun and Learning Indoors:
Keep cool inside while promoting learning. Here are the top tips:
- Cook with Your Kids- Cooking promotes learning in math, science and reading. Children can help read the recipe, measure the ingredients and learn about cause/effect as they spend time in the kitchen with mom or dad. Parents and kids can enjoy learning, creating and eating!
- Set up a Book Club- Summer is the perfect time to instill the joy of reading in a child by creating fun events around books. Families can get together to create a summer book club - they hold meetings outdoors with a picnic lunch or dinner and/or encourage kids to dress up as their favorite book character.
- Create a Home Library- Having books readily available and of interest to a child is the first step in creating a life long reader. Summertime is a great time to set reading goals for kids and offer books as rewards. Parents can review the 202 books of 2002 book list at www.scholastic.com for new reading ideas.
- Click on the Computer- The Internet offers tons of great learning opportunities. Parents visit Scholastic.com and find features such as the News Zone, a current events site dedicated to children. Other great online activities include taking Internet Field trips and completing Cyberhunts, which can also be found on the site.
- Bust Boredom by Reading- Reading to or with children is a wonderful bonding opportunity for families. Summer downtime is the perfect time to introduce reading as an entertaining and fun activity for the entire family.
Summer Fun and Learning Outdoors:
- Open a Lemonade Stand- Counting money and making lemonade are great ways to learn math basics. A perfect way to spend a hot summer day!
- Have Fun With Bubbles- Bubbles are a terrific way to explore the properties of air, water, color and light. Parents and children might turn this project into a science experiment using different wands to make bubbles of all sizes!
- Discover Science in Nature- Going on nature walks or just exploring in the backyard is a natural way to learn more about the environment. Parents should encourage children to collect things they find and take them home to research.
Summer Fun and Learning in the Car, Plane or Train:
Travel is a perfect time to engage kids in "educating" activities. Some great ways to learn on the go include:
- Word Games- Engaging children through fun word association games and songs are a perfect way to pass the time and keep kids thinking. Some fun car games include the license plate game, I'm going on a picnic game and I SPY. These games promote language and memory skills.
- Listen to Books on Tape- Whether it's an audio book of a children's classic tale or learning how to speak a foreign language, books on tape are great when traveling.
- Make Reading Part of the Journey- Parents should encourage children to pack their favorite books for "back-seat" entertainment. Interactive, puzzle and Q &A fact books are all fun for the family.
Judsen Culbreth, Vice President and Editorial Director of Scholastic Family Custom Publishing is available for interviews
About Scholastic Corporation:
Scholastic is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books. As a global children's publishing and media company serving the needs of parents, teachers, and children, Scholastic provides proprietary book and software distribution through school book clubs, school book fairs and to classrooms, as well as through the retail trade. Since 1920, Scholastic has created quality educational materials for schools and has expanded its reach to include the distribution of books, software, toys, online learning services and television programming directly to the home. Scholastic's Grolier division is the leading print and online publisher of children's reference materials and the leader in children's direct-to-home book clubs. Internationally, Scholastic operates wholly owned companies in Argentina, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, The Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Kingdom. The U.S. Scholastic web site is a leading provider of educational services online for parents, teachers and children.
Contacts:
Adrienne Citrin
212-343-6653
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