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Every year in kindergarten is jam-packed with a whirlwind of learning! It’s always such a joy to see how much the students have grown from the first day of school to the last. One way that I like to help students keep up at least a little bit of that momentum is to send home a kindergarten review packet. It might seem like just “one more thing” to prepare at the end of the year, but it’s definitely worth it! In this post, I’m going to share several reasons why a summer packet can be a great thing for your kindergarten students.
If you’re on the fence about whether or not you will be sending home a kindergarten review packet, keep reading! Here are five reasons why it’s worth your time to provide this resource for your students:
Whether you call it summer learning loss, summer slump, or summer slide, one thing is almost certain: Students will naturally backtrack in their academic skills over the summer. Students aren’t participating in the same amount of learning activities that they do during the school year. That’s not a bad thing! After working hard all year, they need a chance to unwind, spend time with their families, enjoy the outdoors, and learn about the world around them.
However, just a little bit of summer review can go a long way in helping students retain more of what they learned in kindergarten. If they can complete some literacy and math activities throughout the summer, they will be able to keep their skills sharp for first grade!
A kindergarten review packet provided by you will likely be more relevant than a workbook that families might pick up at the store. You are able to ensure that the review packet will actually be reviewing concepts your students learned during the year. You can also make sure that students are practicing the most vital skills that will help them start the next year on the right foot.
In addition to choosing the skills you’d like your students to target over the summer, you can also decide on the actual printables! You can choose printables that are similar to what students completed during the year, so they’ll be familiar with the format of the activity when they see it in the packet. When students can complete the work in the review packet independently, they are more likely to work on it over the summer.
Some families might have limited resources for workbooks and summer learning opportunities. Sending home a summer learning packet can provide quality materials for all of your students, no matter their circumstances. You can also divide any leftover school supplies between your students, so they will have the crayons, pencils, and other supplies they would need for summer learning activities.
The other great part of sharing learning resources with families is that they get a chance to see their child in action! When students can share what they know with their families, it helps them grow in confidence. This is such a fun way for students and their families to celebrate everything they learned during kindergarten!
One of my favorite parts of a kindergarten review packet is that it provides families with flexible options for learning activities. This is very important during the summer months! Many students will be vacationing, going to daycare, or visiting family in the time they’re away from school. It can definitely be tricky for them to add math and literacy practice to the mix! This is why the flexibility of a review packet is so helpful.
For example, my kindergarten review packet includes a suggested sequence of three activities that can be done three days per week. Some families might decide to do one activity per day instead. Other families might take time off for vacations, then do more days per week when they are home. Summer packets can easily fit in with any summer plans!
By choosing hands-on and engaging activities for your kindergarten review packet, you remind your students of the fun they had during kindergarten. This helps them look forward to the next year of school and everything they’re going to learn in first grade.
When students have the chance to keep their skills sharp, they will definitely have more confidence as they start school in the fall. The transition to first grade will be much less daunting for them!
If you would like to send home a kindergarten review packet this summer, check out this resource! I have put together a summer packet with over 50 no-prep printables that are ready for you to print, assemble, and send home with your students. These literacy and math activities are designed to feel more like games than homework! Students will have no trouble keeping their skills sharp over the summer with these engaging printable activities.
This resource includes a 6-week planning guide and checklist that families can use to complete three activities, three days a week over the summer. However, this review packet can also be used in other ways! Families can choose single activities to complete throughout the summer. You could also use this resource for summer school or as a no-prep option for end-of-the-year review in your classroom. There are many different ways that you can use the activities in this kindergarten summer packet!
If you’d like to take a closer look at everything I’ve included in this resource, you can find it in the A Spoonful of Learning shop or on TPT.
Are you short on time, but want to find this post later? Just save this post to Pinterest! You can add the pin below to your favorite teaching board so you can easily find this kindergarten review packet when you’re ready to print and go!
These alphabet books will have students dive deep into learning about each letter of the alphabet while eager to see what activity they get to complete next!
