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This week your camper will explore high-interest nonfiction topics and investigative writing.
Nonfiction can foster children's curiosity and provide a natural motivation for reading. It can also help build vocabulary and knowledge of the world, while improving comprehension skills. Nonfiction includes many types of texts that people use every day; encourage your child to read simple maps, review recipes, make a grocery list or peruse local news articles. Visit the library together and let your child select books on nonfiction topics of particular interest to him. The key to helping children build a love of nonfiction is finding topics they are passionate about!
Kids ask a lot of questions. Turn their tough questions into a Book of Why. It's a great way to start building your child's research skills at an early age and to show why "Why?" is a great question!
Printable >
As they become readers, children need to understand that different texts have different purposes. This printable challenges children to distinguish between different types of texts, such as lists, newspapers and signs.
Printable >
Enter a photo of your camper's activity in our contest!
As Americans from the Aleutian Islands to the Florida Keys celebrate our country's birthday, talk to your child about the rich and diverse pasts of its people. If your child were writing the "Declaration of Independence" today, what would it include? Help your camper write it out on "parchment" paper (brown paper bags) with a quill and ink!
4th of July activities >
Encourage your camper to record observations, thoughts
and questions in a notebook—just like a seasoned scientist! Field journals like this help children understand the importance of record keeping and promote creativity and observation skills.
Printable >
Take a photo of your camper's journal to enter our contest!
Encourage your child to write and illustrate a nonfiction book. Suggest a few topics. For example, suggest interviewing and writing about a family member, describing where they grew up, their favorite childhood toy or pet, and so on. If your child can't yet write on his own, you can write what he dictates to you.
Activity >
Share photos of your homemade books and enter to win prizes!
Congratulate your junior journalist and upload a photo for our weekly contest!
Over the weekend, help your camper make a time capsule for future explorers to discover. Have your child decorate a shoebox and fill it with information about your world: a newspaper, a list of favorite foods and toys, drawings of family and pets, and so on. When you're done, bury your time capsule in the backyard or stash it in the attic for "rediscovery" in a few years.
Certificate >Dig into nonfiction with more activities to exercise investigative muscles:
If you think that learning should always be in season, you’re right! Studies have shown that when students return to school after a long summer vacation, they've lost about one month’s worth of learning.†
LeapFrog Summer Camp is designed to keep the learning going all summer long through exciting weekly themes and free, do-anywhere learning activities that explore geography, writing, science, art and more. Sign up to receive a Summer Camp email every other week.
What's your favorite Week 5 activity?
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