Summer is a time for family and fun, but it’s also a time to LEARN!

The Franklin Lakes Math Curriculum Committee designed the Math Summer Boot Camp packets below to guide students and families through key topics and resources as they prepare to enter the next grade, and to help students explore mathematics in the world around them in fun and engaging ways.   While not a formal requirement, we hope students and families will choose to prepare for the upcoming school year by spending some time working with the Math Summer Boot Camp packets below.  Please note that many links referenced can be accessed via the Students tab on the FLPS home page.

Math Summer Boot Camp Links/ Resources:

• Students Entering Grades 1-5: Math Summer Boot Camp Packet
• Students Entering Math 6, 7, or 8: Math Summer Boot Camp Packet
• Math Summer Boot Camp Parent Sign Off Form - Students should hand in to teachers in September!

** Students entering Honors Algebra or Geometry courses: Summer learning information will be mailed home

Countdown to Kindergarten Calendar

In preparation for Kindergarten, we suggest families use the linked summer calendar for guidance on simple, yet impactful activities to support and prepare them for what’s ahead!  These play-based activities encourage positive interactions between children and families while also supporting early experiences with literacy, numeracy, thinking, language, fine and gross motor skills, and other areas that will ready students for Kindergarten!   We suggest displaying each monthly calendar on the refrigerator or on a pinboard, and have your child countdown to Kindergarten one activity at a time!  

Summer Reading 2018: If They Don't Use It, They Lose It!

Unfortunately, when kids don't read over the summer they are likely to fall behind when they head back to school. These learning losses are often called the "Summer Slide" and in order to keep our students' skills sharp, we encourage ALL children to read all summer long.

To prevent reading loss, research supports reading both TO the child and BY the child.  Research with 1,600 sixth-graders in 18 schools showed that reading four to six chapter books during the summer was enough to alleviate summer loss (Trelease, 2010).   Resources to support children and parents with book selection abound, including the Franklin Lakes Public Library's Summer Reading Program , as well as endless children's booklists published on the Internet.  

What If My Child Wants a Vacation From Reading?  Jim Trelease, advocate and author of The Read-Aloud Handbook (2010), advises parents to:

• First, remember that pleasure is more often caught than taught (that means-read aloud to them).   

• Make sure you (the adult role model) are seen reading daily. It works even better if you read at the same time as the child.
• For young children, looking at the pictures in books and turning pages qualifies as "reading." We become picture-literate before becoming print-literate.
• Allow children to choose the books they wish to read to themselves, even if they don't meet your high standards.
• Don't take that vacation car trip without recorded books on board; they count too!
• Set some time parameters, short at first, and longer as children get older and read more.
• Newspapers and magazines, even comic books, should count toward reading time.  All of it amounts to exposure to print. The self-selection, self-interest factor is important here. Let children read what interests them.

The Importance of Reading Aloud

As children's listening levels may be up to two years more mature than their independent reading levels, the benefits of parental read aloud to children of ALL AGES are compelling - even for students as old as 14! As such, parents are encouraged to initiate a daily 15 minute read aloud ritual to build children's academic and emotional foundations. Keeping in mind that the vocabulary of the average children's book is three times greater than that found on prime-time television (Hayes & Ahrens, 1988), the daily ritual of read aloud and conversation further serves to build children's vocabularies.

For more information and resources, please visit:

• FAMS List of Suggested Authors (Gr. 6-8)
• Franklin Lakes Public Library Summer Reading Program
• Bookopolis’ Summer Reading Headquarters
• Common Sense Media's "How To Choose the Right Books For Your Kids
  
• Scholastic's Summer Reading Challenge