"Close the door."

"In or out! Make up your mind."

"You are letting the cool air out."

I can remember my mom saying these things all summer to my siblings and I. The funny thing is.... now my mom's voice is coming out of my mouth. Oy! Summer is officially here. There are times when we will need to tidy up the house or prepare meals and hope that our children keep themselves somewhat occupied, but let's invest some of this summer in physical activity with our children.

Yes, I realize that you have just started your summer holidays. I understand you have probably been looking forward to them for months and months. You are already dreaming about lazing around a pool or playing volleyball at the beach or living it up at a theme park or battling black flies and mosquitos in the woods. I totally get that and plan on enjoying all those things myself.  I am not asking you or your child to 'sacrifice' any of your summer. I however, I am suggesting that you take a little bit of your time every day to invest in your child's future. Let's focus on some little, fun things that have the potential to impact your child's school success. 

How many times do we rely on fads or advertisements at Christmas time and birthdays to find a game for our families? There are so many games out there that the idea of shopping for one can be overwhelming. If you have done any shopping at Mastermind Toys or Toys R Us, you have seen firsthand how many options there are. The thought of narrowing down the options can seem daunting. Breakthroughs has something for you! We have compiled a list of our most valued games up to this point. We have incorporated these games into our Individualized Brain Development Programs.

We are often asked by parents what summer activities we would recommend. The summer is an ideal time to be making an impact on brain skill development. When the brain is not being taxed by the work and pressure of school, it can develop rapidly. Our top recommendations include reading, some excellent brain developing games, reading, activity workbooks like our Brain Boosters, Puzzlemania, Lumosity, reading and various kinds of physical activities and did I mention reading? Next week we will launch our Top 10 Educational Game Guide which will help make this summer one to remember.

I hear “My child just isn’t interested in reading” all too often.

I guarantee you can find something they’re interested in reading. If not, there are deeper issues that need to be examined and we'll look at many of those in later posts. I’ve seen children whose parents can’t get them to read a thing, yet they pour over a new video game manual cover to cover! The key is finding something that interests them. There’s a book on it somewhere! Bugs, rocks, Barbie’s, video games, mummies, knights, space, animals, you name it, it’s out there. Want help? Below you can download a short interest inventory which will help give you ideas of content your children will be interested in reading!