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A great place to start preparing for summer vacation is to ask your child’s teacher for some resources. Perhaps your child's classroom can supply you with a continuum of schoolwork or suggest related activities that can be done each day at home. Create an area that can be consistently used as the "work area." The amount of structure needed will depend upon the needs of the child. Try to have work time at a similar time each day. Maintaining structured work sessions when school is out helps the child stay connected to the constructive routine of going to school while also helping to make the transition back to school more harmonious. A distinction should be made between an "independent work table" and the table where mom or dad will interact by helping, teaching, or just being a presence. Your child's teachers should be able to share which activities your child can do independently and which ones need some teaching/demonstrating.
Use a schedule to help your child understand the sequence of events that will happen during the whole day or perhaps, the most challenging part of the day. Use words, pictures, drawings, or objects to convey this sequence. Use whatever system is most easily understood and manipulated successfully. A schedule can make a huge difference in overall comfort level and prevent meltdowns when the unexpected happens. Remember, by changing the schedule when something unexpected occurs, it becomes less personal, and if the child is relying on the information from that schedule, s/he will be more apt to make a quick adjustment. Again, ask your child's classroom teacher for help.
Appeal to your child's strengths and interests. As hard as it may be, try to withhold the particular item of interest. Interests are power items, and if they are made available by the parent, at special times rather than giving your child control of whatever they desire and for however long they wish to use it, paves the way for a more give and take relationship in which other activities of lesser interest can be introduced and attempted. For example, one might even present a simple chore, like helping mom sweep the floor, before having computer time for 15 minutes. A schedule showing time and order of activities can be useful for these situations, you can find some great free printable resources online, click here for some examples.
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