Activities & Lessons

Grades 3–5 Summer Reading Activities: Family Time

2 Min Read
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Caregiver Corner

Download our letter to you with tips and suggestions for extending this week’s activities with your family. Have a great week!

Welcome to Family Time! We’ll provide five days of reading and learning activities designed to engage your child in an exploration of family and spending time together.

Reading Monday

It’s Monday, so let’s read about working together with family!


Too Much Stuff!

What do you do when you have so much stuff you can’t find anything? Yolanda’s family decided to have a garage sale to solve their big, messy problem. Find out how the garage sale brought surprises nobody expected.



Discuss the book: What problem does Yolanda’s family have at the beginning of the story? What steps did Anthony and Yolanda take to get everything ready for the garage sale? What is one thing the kids did with the money they made?

Media Tuesday

It’s Tuesday, so let’s watch a video!


Life in the Wild West

Watch the video Life in the Wild West to learn more about the families who helped settle the West.

Discuss the video: What are some of the dangers the families encountered on their journey? What would you have liked or disliked about being a pioneer?

Writing Wednesday

It’s Wednesday, so let’s write!


Write a Letter

Think about the story Too Much Stuff! Write a letter to Yolanda and Anthony’s grandparents. You can write from either Yolanda’s viewpoint or Anthony’s. Tell the grandparents about getting ready for the garage sale and how it turned out. Use details from the text.



More to Read!

For more reading about working together as a family, download Lost in a Cave.


Research Thursday

It’s Thursday, so let’s research advertising!


Compare Newspaper Ads

  • Locate the “Group Sales” category in the classified ad section of an online or print newspaper.
  • Examine several ads. What kinds of information do they tell? Are some ads better than others? Why?

Project Friday

It’s Friday, so let’s create!


Make a Garage Sale Sign

  • Imagine that you need to make a sign for a family garage sale.
  • Think about what it needs to say. How can you draw attention with your sign?
  • Make a sign for your sale. Write clearly and use bright colors.


Talk about what you learned about Family Time this week with your friends and family!

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