Summer Learning for School-Aged Kids in Home Daycares

Summer learning is something that isn’t always thought of as an important thing, yet it plays a crucial role in the educational journey of students. Engaging in activities that promote learning during the summer months can help reinforce the knowledge gained during the school year, prevent the summer slide, and foster a love for lifelong learning.

When it comes to school-aged children who attend home daycares in the summers-preventing and reducing learning loss can be effectively achieved through a combination of engaging, thought-provoking activities and a structured routine. By incorporating experiences that are on their level, caregivers can foster an environment that not only reinforces previously learned concepts but also ignites a passion for exploration and discovery.

In this post, we will be discussing ways that home daycare caregivers can provide summer learning opportunities for school-aged children all while still keeping the rest of their program running smoothly.

Home Daycare Is Challenging

Home daycare providers go through so much as it is such a hard profession.

To even be a provider, one must go through what can be a very lengthy and expensive process just to even have children in their care, often involving rigorous background checks, home studies, and extensive training requirements that ensure the safety and well-being of the children. This vetting demands time and emotional investment, as prospective providers navigate a complex system filled with regulations and expectations that can vary widely by location.

As hopeful providers strive to meet all necessary criteria, many find themselves facing unexpected challenges, making the journey to becoming licensed both daunting and rewarding. This ultimately reflects their deep commitment to offering a nurturing environment for vulnerable children.

Once a provider is good to go on taking care of children in their home, more work needs to be done as they will most likely need to do marketing and interviewing to get families signed up. This can be a short or long process depending on the needs of their area.

The children providers will mainly get children who are in the 0-4 age range. This demographic encompasses a variety of developmental stages, including infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, who each have unique needs and interests. So, unless they are specifically trying to focus on school-aged children, they will likely find themselves caring for more of the little ones in their care.

The focus on younger children allows providers to foster essential early development skills through play and structured activities, forming a crucial part of their growth and learning journey. This means that they are spending a lot of time and engaging with them.

Adding in School-Aged Children

When a childcare provider has several little ones they are caring for, adding in school-aged children can be difficult. This is because they have different needs, requiring not only attention and support but also tailored activities that engage their growing minds as well.

Balancing the varying schedules and interests can often feel overwhelming, as younger children might require more hands-on care and supervision, while school-aged children may seek independence and additional responsibilities. It becomes a juggling act, where ensuring that each child’s unique social, emotional, and educational needs are met can be challenging.

If a daycare provider brings school agers into the mix without being prepared, the children might act out for these reasons:

Boredom – Not having enough stimulation and activities that are up to their developmental level.
New Rules and Routines- Not having the freedom they have in their own home environment.
Overstimulation from the Environment- At daycares there are a lot of noise and stuff going on. This might be too stimulating for a school ager.
More Structure- Most home daycare providers have a structure to their day that they follow. School agers might get frustrated with this because they are used to less structure at home.
New Authority Figure- This might only occur in the beginning of school-aged children attending a home daycare. Acting out by testing the authority’s boundaries is quite common.
School Day Stress- If they are coming right from school, their day might have been stressful which in turn might cause them to have challenging behaviors.

Finding ways to create a harmonious environment where everyone feels valued can make a significant difference in the overall dynamics of the home daycare.

Summer Learning for School Aged Kids

A home daycare provider can have such a positive impact on school agers development as they can for the little ones. This means that they can even prevent the learning loss that often occurs over summer breaks.

Keeping children in this age group learning doesn’t have to be rigid, difficult or time consuming. With just a little bit of planning, one can fit in activities to that will have the school agers going into the new school year, strong. Here are some ways this can be done:

1. Make Learning Seamless & Play-Based

Children of all ages learn best when it feels like play! Create theme weeks that all ages can participate in at their own level. For example:

Space Week: Younger kids explore toy planets while older kids build rocket models and learn about gravity.
Mystery Week: Everyone solves fun puzzles, but older kids also work on logic challenges and creative storytelling.
Nature Exploration: Littles collect leaves, while big kids research the plants and bugs they find.

Set up learning stations so older kids can work independently on engaging activities (puzzles, reading, STEM kits) while younger ones play nearby.

2. Encourage Peer Learning & Leadership

Older kids love to feel important—let them be learning buddies for younger children! They can:

Read aloud to younger kids (great for fluency and comprehension!).
Help them with simple math games or craft projects.
Lead a daily “show and tell” where they share what they’ve learned.

This not only helps with learning but also builds confidence and leadership skills.

3. Use Nap/Quiet Time Wisely

When little ones nap, use the time for older kids to do self-directed learning:

Set out workbooks, summer journals, or STEM challenges.
Provide access to audiobooks or interactive learning games.
Let them choose an independent “quiet time project,” like writing a story or designing a board game.

4. Incorporate Outdoor Learning

Take advantage of the weather with engaging outdoor activities is a great for summer learning :

Scavenger Hunts: Make lists of things to find (shapes, colors, nature items).
Water Play Science: Freeze small objects in ice cubes and let kids figure out how to melt them quickly.
Gardening Fun: Let kids plant, care for, and document the growth of small plants.

5. Leverage Technology (If Allowed)

If screen time is part of a caregiver’s daycare, it should be used wisely. Some ideas include the following:

Educational apps for math and reading practice.
Virtual field trips to museums, zoos, or historical sites.
Interactive audiobooks that make stories come alive.

Using Our Curriculum

We are hard at work on our No-School Day Bundle !It includes a 12 week, summer learning unit that has three days per week of lesson plans. Each week has a theme and the three days of lesson plans go along with them.

The bundle also has lesson plans for non-school days during the school year and for seasonal breaks. All of the lessons are engaging and really help to prevent summer learning loss. There are also workbook pages for math and language arts that are built into each lesson plan.

Another great thing about this unit is that a home daycare provider can also have preschoolers join in the activities as well and the school agers can help them! This will allow the littler ones to also get extra learning in especially if they don’t do a preschool curriculum in the summers.

There are also lesson plans for days off during the school year if they attend home daycares on those days as well.

In Conclusion

Many students lose a significant amount of what they’ve learned if they don’t continue to engage with educational material on summer breaks. If they are attending home daycares, it may take some extra planning at first but caregivers can provide enriching summer learning opportunities for them. By incorporating many different things and experiences, home daycare providers can ensure that learning remains a priority even when school is out.

If you are a home daycare provider, teacher or parent/guardian and you are looking for fun curriculum for a elementary school aged child- check out our store! The No-School Day Bundle with the summer school unit is not ready yet but you can check back for it. The other units that are available are great for summer learning as well so take a look at those too.