Summer of Learning: Community Trips

Whether you are a special education teacher at summer school, a counselor at summer camp, or a parent with your kids home for the summer, you may be about ready for some ideas to keep kids engaged and learning this summer!  This week's mini-series should help you come up with some fun, yet simple ideas to help keep your kids busy, while also retaining what they learned during the school year!

I was asked to participate in this post by Personal Creations who are trying to help encourage parents to spend time working with their children to keep them always moving forward with their education (even during time off from school1) 

Looking for some ideas to keep your kids busy and learning this summer? How about some community trips?!  These are a great way for kids to maintain some of their academic, functional, and behavior skills from the school year as well as an opportunity to practice generalizing those skills to new locations!

Going to restaurants of any sort seems to be very motivating for kids, which is the perfect time to try and slip in a learning moment (or 2)!  I recommend to mix it up with restaurants that have a variety of different set-ups.  Subway (order as your food is made and lots of opportunities to specify what you want), McDonalds (simple ordering at the counter with quick service), or any sit down restaurant (work on waiting to eat, not clearing your own dishes, interacting with a waitress, making conversation with those you are out to eat with).   Regardless of where you go, you can have kids practice reading skills by reading the menu; communication skills by ordering for themselves; math skills by adding up their bill/paying.  Also, depending on how you get there, you can work on transportation skills as well (paying/taking the bus, crossing the street safely, etc.)

Check out these additional posts for more information on different skills that can be addressed for each type of trip!

A post on community trips to Subway.

A post on community trips to McDonalds

A post on community trips to sit down restaurants. 

A post on community trips to the grocery store. With FREE shopping list printables!

Before or after your trip, you can also work on spelling/reading words you might see/have seen at the restaurant (i.e. hamburger, fries, soda, etc.).  You can view the menu online and practice some menu math problems.  You can also download this FREE comprehension worksheet from my TPT Store (click here)  to fill out after going on a community trip to a restaurant!

Check back in tomorrow for more activity ideas to keep your kids learning and engaged this summer break.