Curriculum Director Karen Sandberg. Photo courtesy of Greene Co Schools

It’s summertime and with kids not having to attend school, there’s a challenge for students to retain their education.

Even though there is an emphasis on literacy, with each community having its own summer reading program, Greene County School District Curriculum Director Karen Sandberg says there are ways for adults and parents to keep kids engaged through other academic areas such as math, science and social studies. She tells Raccoon Valley Radio, some fun ways to involve your kids with math is having them help measure out ingredients when making snacks or meals, and using time, money and measurements when planning out a family trip. She offers suggestions for science and social studies.

“The thing about science is that it’s really just all about asking questions. So as you’re walking down, how many times has that guy mowed his lawn? How fast does grass grow? Let’s set up some tests. It’s a really easy thing to do for science. And then there’s all kinds of geography and history things right here in our community with statues and plaques around the square (in Jefferson). But I think that the biggest thing that you can do to keep kids always learning is feed their curiosity. Help them dig in and figure out what the answers are.”

She adds that the goal is to help and support kids in their learning so they don’t have as hard of a time to get back into classroom learning when school starts back up in August.