All school year you've been amazed at what a smart little kid you've got. Well, summer is coming, school's almost out, and that smart little kid may be sliding a bit if you're not careful. The brain is like a muscle. If left unchallenged, unexercised, it can lose strength, conditioning, and it may even atrophy. You want much more from your child's brain this summer than a bunch of reptilian responses. Does the expression "Use it or lose it" apply to the brain? Does your child have to "flex" his or her brain to stay smart?

All school year you've been amazed at what a smart little kid you've got. Well, summer is coming, school's almost out, and that smart little kid may be sliding a bit if you're not careful. The brain is like a muscle. If left unchallenged, unexercised, it can lose strength, conditioning, and it may even atrophy. You want much more from your child's brain this summer than a bunch of reptilian responses. Does the expression "Use it or lose it" apply to the brain? Does your child have to "flex" his or her brain to stay smart?

Let's compare two athletes. Athlete A trains in her particular sport ten months out of the year and then takes two months off to relax. Athlete B trains throughout the entire year. When Athlete A starts training again after the two months sabbatical, she's going to notice a discouraging amount of sluggish muscles and difficult recovery time. Athlete B, on the other hand, will maintain her athleticism, even improving every day.

If our athletes in the previous scenery were students, the same thing would happen. Student A takes time off from learning, using her brain, and finds it very difficult to get back in the swing of things in the fall. Student B never quits learning, reading, studying, and her brain is trained to take on a new school year.

Our children's physical well-being is important to us as parents. Now, consider our children's learning well-being. How do we "exercise" our child's brain? Activities that provoke concentrated thinking will stretch your child's imagination and spark all those little neurons to keep the brain busy and learning. The following are just a few ways that you can help your youngsters with their "thinking calisthenics" this summer.

Reading Skills - Your local library should be your first stop. Summer reading programs are fantastic places to get your child to flex his or her brain power. Reading programs are typically free at the public library. If you don't have a public library that offers reading programs, you may want to develop your own book club. Gather your children and friends of theirs, and draw up a reading chart for the summer. Meet at regular intervals to discuss the books, and don't forget the rewards! Chart each child's success and hand out little trinkets to celebrate.

Writing Skills - If your child has a favorite book series, like 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians' or 'Clarice Bean' you may want to offer a writing challenge. Have your child write the next book in the series. Provide a notebook and help your child write out the outline. Then encourage your child to let their imagination soar. This is not for a grade, so tell them to relax and enjoy!

Arithmetic Skills - Improving math skills can be one of the tastiest programs to keep the brain active. Why tasty? Because the easiest place to learn math skills is in the kitchen cooking. Since you are cooking every day, you may as well have your youngsters help with the measuring. Double a few recipes and have your child come up with the answers. Doubling recipes is a good way to get your child to concentrate on math - especially when chocolate chip cookies are the end result of their hard work.

Logic and Problem Solving Skills - Young children learn simple problem solving skills often by playing board games and card games. A rousing game of Sorry, Crazy Eights, Go Fish, or Old Maid will have your little one learning the art of strategy in no time at all. Card games for older children can hone these skills even more. Cribbage, Gin Rummy, and Poker are games of logic just as much as they are games of skill.

Artistic Skills - Your child may or may not be artistically gifted. Either way, knowing something about art and being able to express yourself in some form of art medium is part of a well-rounded education. Provide your children with pictures of art objects so that you can discuss what they think about what they see. Get books from the bookstore, library, or thrift shop and let your child explore the pages. Tour museums to see a variety of art, then ask your child to create something of their own using art medium of their choice. Mostly, have fun with it!

Music Skills - Choose a little time each day to listen to music while relaxing. Discuss the style of music you are hearing; classical, jazz, opera, blues, rock and roll, country, reggae, musicals, etc. If you have a music store in your town, they may offer short courses in their store so a child may try out an instrument they have been interested in without a big commitment. Take in free summertime concerts in the park, church socials, or other gatherings available in your community.

We all want to relax and kick back in the summer. However, your children can't afford to let their brains get lazy. School will be back in session before you know it and you want your little ones to be ready. Keep your child's brain busy and active this summer with fun, challenging projects to keep them, and their brains, in tip-top shape.