1) Read
Always number one on our list. With so many distractions, it has never been harder to turn your child into a voracious reader but keep persisting! Here are the Golden Brain Academy top books for kids this summer:
- Years 1 , 2 and 3
Mega Monster (David Walliams)
The 130-Storey Treehouse (Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton)
A Monster Ate My Packed Lunch (Pamela Butchart)
Toto the Ninja Cat (Dermot O’Leary
- Year 3, 4 and 5
Dogman: Mothering Heights (Dave Piley)
Tom Gates Tremendous Tales (Liz Pichon)
The Skulduggery Pleasant Grimoire (Derek Landy)
Future Friend (David Baddiel)
- Years 6 and 7
Tom Gates 18: Ten Tremendous Tales (Liz Pichon)
Rowley Jefferson’s awesome friendly spooky stories (Jeff Kinney)
The Hatmakers (Tamzin Merchant, Paola Escobar)
The Runaway Girls (Jacqueline Wilson)
Dead or Alive (Derek Landy)
The Secret Detectives (Ella Risbridger)
The Last Bear (Hannah Gold, Levi Pinfold)
When the world was ours (Liz Kessler)
- Dyslexic/ Reluctant Readers
Football Crazy (Tony Bradman)
Captain Whiskers (Jeremy Strong)
Nappy the Pirate Baby (Alan Macdonald)
- Year 7 upwards
You are a champion (Marcus Rashford)
Fall off, get back on, keep going (Clare Balding)
What’s the T? (Juno Dawson)
I am the Minotaur (Anthony McGowan)
2) Exercise (obviously!)
An obvious one, but post lockdown it’s time to get out and about and get moving. Exercise improves energy levels and improves mental well being, both of which will be essential to starting the new school year with a bang! There are always lots of summer camps available locally, but a great, free family activity is hiking. For the more ambitious The Trails – National Trails
3) Start a business
Why not? From selling lemonade on the porch to being the next Jeff Bezos, starting a business teaches children so much about life and is great for practising their English, maths and critical thinking skills too. Make it a fun activity for all the family by brainstorming ideas and company names and get the children to use their screen time wisely, doing some market research.
This is quite US focussed but gives a good child-friendly rundown of the basics How to Start a Business in Middle School: 7 Steps (with Pictures) (wikihow.com)
4) Be kind to your mind
We will be wrestling with our children to put down their phones every now and again and encourage them to talk about their well being. There are so many great podcasts, books and media out there now and Alison also wrote on our blog about here experience of mindfulness in the classroom Be Kind to Your Mind – Golden Brain Academy.
5) Work your way through the Avenger films
Lets be realistic, the sun wont be shining every day and the kids wont be enjoying a Famous Fiveesque idyll all the time ???? So for those rainy or lazy days, purchasing something like Disney Plus might be the solution. For £7.99 a month you can cancel anytime and, as a minimum, you’ll get every Marvel film anytime you like. No need to spend £5 on a bucket of popcorn in a cinema. Kids and parents are guaranteed to love it!
6) Volunteer
We’ve got children ourselves, so we understand that “buy in” is tricky to say the least. But even corporate life is more and more about social responsibility so let’s prepare them early. There are plenty of resources out there but why not try the litter pick up Home | Keep Britain Tidy or TCV | The Conservation Volunteers
7) Food
The British culinary scene has changed so much over the last 30 years. Although we survived Findus crispy pancakes and Frey Bentos pies, our children’s expectations are thankfully a little higher. So why not try a new food this summer? For those in the South East, London’s premier food market | Borough Market near London Bridge is a great place to go to try lots of different food. And when you get home try a recreate the recipe or choose one of the 1000s to be found on YouTube. If you are feeling ambitious here is a great veggie recipe to try (ironically no fish required !)
(20) Fuchsia Dunlop & Sichuan Flavors: Fish Fragrant | Braised Eggplant | Serious Eats – YouTube
8) Education!
Last and in this case definitely least. At GBA we want all our lovely students to have a well earned rest over the summer holidays and come back ready for a fantastic new academic year from September. However, we do recommend a few hours in the summer brushing up on the key skills learned last year, see Classes – Golden Brain Academy for our current and summer classes.
And now would be a great time to take an academic assessment with us. For just £20, one of our fully-qualified and highly experienced teachers will work with your child to identify exactly where they stand in relation to the National Curriculum age related expectations. We will provide detailed feedback on their level, target areas and give recommendations for their future learning journey.
