As parents think about summer learning with young kids, the task of creating a plan that works for the whole family can feel a bit overwhelming. But tech tools like ChatGPT can help parents discover activity ideas for their kids.
Here are three ways parents can use AI to help with summer learning and family fun.
1. Summer learning schedule
Design an age appropriate summer learning schedule by writing instructions for ChatGPT to build it. In the prompt, include your child’s topical interests so that the plan will be engaging. Here is an example I wrote to cover mid-June through July for a kindergartener.
Design a summer learning program for a kindergartener who will be entering school for the first time. Have the expertise of a kindergarten teacher. Cover topics like math, reading, writing, and art for a 5 year old child. Include activities that are local, free, and sometimes include the outdoors. Also use fun themes like animals, insects, the ocean, or the jungle. Output ideas in a calendar from mid-June to the end of July, 2025.
Check out what ChatGPT had to say! The prompt output a 6-week schedule of action-packed themes like Bug Bonanza, Jungle Journey, and Garden & Growing fun. Here is an example of Week 2: Bug Bonanza.
I also love the reading suggestions it provided, which helped me think of the next prompt.
2. Summer reading list
Ready to encourage readers this summer? Generate a custom summer reading list for the age and stage of your child. Include your child’s interests along with preferences for fiction, nonfiction, best sellers, or any other criteria that best meets your needs. Then, head to the local library to check them out.
Here is an example prompt to get you started:
You are a children’s librarian. Provide a summer reading list for a 1st grader who is interested in animals. Provide a mix of best sellers, fiction, and nonfiction.
Now look at that. A Kate DiCamillo book came up. SO CUTE! 🐷
3. Summer craft ideas
Looking for ways to unleash your child’s creativity this summer? Query ChatGPT for craft ideas. Don’t forget to include any context or parameters that work best for your family. Here is the prompt I wrote:
You are a preschool teacher. Please provide your students with 10 fun and free craft activity ideas to do with recycled materials that parents can easily get from home. The themes should relate to summer learning and special interests the students might have like animals, beaches, and camping trips. Please provide instructions and materials lists for each craft.
Newspaper kites, bottlecap turtles, and pinecone beach creatures? Who knew how creative ChatGPT could be? Notice that I could have improved my ChatGPT prompt by asking it to include images upfront for the craft prompt. So at the end of the prompt, I added clarifying requests to include images. The bottlecap turtle image that ChatGPT generated wasn’t exactly like the instructions, but it sure it sweet.
Suggestions for writing a ChatGPT prompt
To get the most relevant output from ChatGPT or other AI tools, consider some best practices for writing prompts (reference: OpenAI prompt engineering):
- Give ChatGPT a role or persona
- Use clear and specific language with context
- Provide an example of the output you desire
- Include parameters like format or length or type of media
Download ChatGPT
Ready to get started? Access ChatGPT on the app store or via the web, for free!
