Summer Learning

Summer is a powerful time for youth to grow their language and reading skills and spark learning in unexpected ways. Becoming a reader requires us to weave many different skills together over time. Youth professionals, parents and caring adults have innumerable ways to grow and extend children’s exposure to words.  WYEN Director Michelle Sullivan expressed the potential that’s unlocked with literacy: “Becoming a reader requires us to weave many different skills together over time. Youth professionals, parents and caring adults have innumerable ways to grow and extend children’s exposure to words.” 

Try This: Explore Outside with Jenn Beckstead, Natrona County Library Youth Services Manager: Invite the whole family to explore your neighborhood, a local park, or the area around your library. Discuss what you see—animals, plants, shapes, colors, or even the letters on street signs. Encourage everyone to share their observations, and don’t forget to bring a journal to record your adventure through writing or sketches. You can even add some colorful sidewalk art with chalk! Nature walks not only create lasting memories but also help strengthen literacy skills and provide valuable exercise for both body and mind. Be prepared for your family to revisit the stories from your walk and get excited about the next one. Plan your walk with a stop at the library, where you can discover books about native birds and plants, how to build animal enclosures, or even a classic story of a child in a red cloak meeting a sly wolf in the woods.  

Whether it is visual, verbal, theatrical or musical, the arts not only offer young people powerful ways to express themselves, but they also provide rich opportunities to develop durable, transferable skills like teamwork, problem solving, and resilience. Creative activities help young people explore who they are, make meaning of the world, and connect them to their communities. 

Try This! Mizzen’s Making Comics Collection: Mizzen is a free platform created by OST professionals for OST professionals. Check out their “Making Comics” collection that helps young people explore art and storytelling through the magic of comics. 

Summer is a time to explore, grow, and connect. Communities across Wyoming are building healthier communities for young people through physical activity, mental health support, or simple practices like preparing a smoothie or journaling. These programs give youth tools for lifelong well-being  

Try This: Go on a Movement Scavenger Hunt: Get outside and spot signs of summer—bike, walk, or run your way through a movement scavenger list. Inspired by Cent$ible Nutrition. Make a list of items you might find in your area like birds, crawling bugs, flying bugs, leaves, flowers.   

Try This: The 4‑H Healthy Living programs empower young people to be healthy – body and mind – with the skills to make healthy decisions and lead healthy lifestyles. Having the confidence and skills to lead healthy lifestyles not only improves overall well-being; it enables youth to tackle life’s challenges today and become leaders in their lives, careers and communities as they grow into responsible adulthood. Explore the 4-H Healthy Living Programs. And download their amazing “Fresh Chefs” cookbook edited by Carla Hall, Celebrity Chef, Author, and 4-H Healthy Habits Program Ambassador. You won’t want to miss the Key Lime Cake submitted by Trisha Yearwood, Award-Winning Singer, Cookbook Author, and Georgia 4-H Alumna. 

Science, technology, engineering, and math come alive through hands-on exploration. STEM is a dynamic way of thinking and solving problems. It’s how we understand the natural world, design solutions for real-life challenges, and build the future. Emily Vercoe, WYEN Program Associate, sees STEM learning as a way to explore the world: “STEM learning thrives beyond classroom walls—in museums, makerspaces, summer camps, and everyday curiosity. These informal spaces spark wonder without the pressure of grades, allowing young minds to tinker, explore, and discover that science isn’t just a subject to study, but a lens through which to understand and shape the world around them.” 

Try This: Wyoming PBS partnered with Science Kids in Sheridan to create Nature WY, a digital educational series focused on outdoor science and nature and developed for children 6-8 years old (or really, ALL learners from 2 to 102!). Each episode has an activity guide for use at home and a lesson plan aligned to state and common core standards. Topics in the first season include watersheds, macroinvertebrates, catching insects, becoming a keen observer using all your senses, and insect habitats.

Learning happens everywhere—and young people thrive when they feel a sense of belonging and purpose. 

Try This: Our friends at Mizzen believe in the power of youth voice. They note, “By empowering young people to have a say in the policies and decisions that affect them, we can build a brighter future for all.” Check out their Ten Tips for Amplifying Youth Voice.