Prepare Your Child for the School Year with Reading, Writing... and the Arts

With children back in school, parents can prepare their child for a successful school year with reading, writing and the arts.

During the summer, kids may forget things they learned during the school year in skills such as reading, writing and math, studies show. Research suggests, however, that the arts can help improve children's learning, comprehension and retention in these areas.

VSA arts recommends the following educational activities designed for young children, including those with disabilities:

BAG IT!

Personalizing Lunch Bags Using Creative Patterns: Creating patterns, or designs, helps children recognize shapes, colors and line qualities, and young children can improve math skills by counting different elements in patterns. Your child can personalize paper lunch bags with interesting patterns. Cut a household sponge into small squares. Using a clothespin to squeeze and hold a square, dip it into watercolor paint then press the square on the bag several times to make a pattern. Repeat using different colors and patterns. Children can write their names using crayons and markers.

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BE A CUT UP!

Looking Ahead to New School Experiences through Collagemaking: Your child will have many experiences, learn new things and meet new people this year. Collagemaking, which assists children with classifying and organization skills, can help children look forward to these things. Have your child cut pictures from colored paper or magazines that reflect the people and things they look forward to in the coming school year. Paste the images onto paper. Encourage your child to write a short story about the collage and draw other images onto the paper. Join your child in reading the story aloud.

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SOUND OFF!

Creating a Lunchroom Orchestra: Musicians that study and play percussion instruments such as drums use math skills of counting, have highly developed hand-eye coordination and exercise listening skills. Encourage all these in your child by assembling a simple "lunchroom" orchestra of plastic cups, old pots and pans, wooden and plastic spoons and anything else that will shake, rattle and roll. Guide your child in developing simple percussion sounds to accompany recorded music.

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