Can you believe the end of the year is already upon us? I can barely believe it myself! I wanted to share a fun and engaging idea as an alternative to Summer Review packets. I promise your studentsย ย (And you!) will love making these a summer review bucket!
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I started using this idea a few years agoย when I was looking for an alternative to a huge summer review packet and Iโve never looked back!
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As soon as I brought in these colorful and fun buckets, my class was ready and intrigued. They were even more excited when they learned they get to fill these fun colored buckets with activities they make.
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So here are some tips on making summer review buckets for your cuties to use this summer!
Summer Review Bucket:
I found these cute buckets fromย Michealโs Craft stores. They are usually around $1 a bucket and with only 16 kiddos this year, buying one for every kid wasnโt too bad. If you plan ahead, you can grab sand buckets for about 35-50 cents around back to school time. I didnโt plan ahead this year, but next year, Iโll be ready!
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You donโt have to use these buckets, any larger bucket will do.
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Remember: the bigger the bucket the more โgoodiesโ you can send off with your kids.
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Donโt you have a Michaelโs near you? I found these on Amazon,ย and the quality and price were perfect!
Contents: What to Put in Your Summer Review Bucket
Hereโs the fun and easy part of the whole idea. These babies can be filled with anything to help your students over the summer. This year, I sent home all our left over math consumables (Now theyโre not in the trash!) and any review work we didnโt finish. I also sent home a cursive packet for them to practice their newly formed skills.
Other suggested items:
- Science consumables
- Reading consumables
- Interactive Student Notebooks
- Flash cards
- Game ideas
- online program log ins
- Summer reading suggestions
- Old books from your classroom library that are ready to be loved by someone else.
My thirds were most excited about making their own summer review supplies! ย Spinner games are an old favorite and they are so easy to do at home. To make our little โSpinner Game Packโ, ย students filled a gallon size baggie with a pencil and a paperclip.
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Then each day, Iโd pass out a new spinner game. Weโd play a sampling of the game with a friend, then tuck the spinner into our baggies for safe keeping.
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The best part of these spinner games is that most of them do not require a recording sheet, so students can truly play all summer! My newly minted 4thโs have a healthy mix of math, reading, and writing games to keep them engaged this summer break!
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Hereโs an example of a reading strategy spinner game!
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You can grab these spinner games for your kiddos here in my TpT store.
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Flash cards are another great activity to put in your summer buckets! In years past, I had my students make their own self-checking flash cards.
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(You can grab these here)
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This year, I was blessed enough to have my school purchase a standard set of multiplication flash cards for each of my students. How cool is that? Even though Iโm not a fan of skill and drill, flash cards are great for review in the car or for some math games.
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I hope youโre inspired to keep your kiddos engaged this summer with summer buckets!
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So what are some other ways you help keep your students working over the summer?
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