Typically we think about the school year as the part of the year where kids learn and the summer as the time when they get to goof off. I have always made my kids do some math and reading during the summer, but not really to learn anything new–rather just to keep sharp. Instead, I like to use the summer time to teach my kids about the things that they will not necessarily learn at school.
Travel
Vacationing is a great way to teach kids about the rest of the world, or maybe even just your state. We went on a Disney Cruise this month and made the most of our stop in Costa Maya to tour the Mayan ruins and learn more about their culture. I figured that 4 hours of “learning” wasn’t too much compared to all of the the other totally fun activities we were participating in. Your travels may take you to the state capital, a national park, or out of the country. Make the most of both the big and the small trips to teach your kids geography, culture, and history.
Cooking
While you are busy entertaining the kids and trying to keep them busy, why not let your kids help with the meals? Smaller kids could be supervised performing basic tasks. Older kids can try their hand at whole meals. Everyone can be involved in the meal planning, preparation, and clean up. It is especially helpful to those of us who work from home and are not only looking for activities for the kids but for a few extra hours ourselves. The kids may find that they like foods more when they are the ones that choose and prepare them.
Sports and Athletics
My girls spend most of their school year doing artsy and brainy activities like Math Bowl and Choir. They have never really been drawn to athletics in any way. And when time is a precious commodity during the school year, they have to pick and choose which activities they will participate in carefully. Summer is a different story. We have a pool, so my kids spend a lot of their time playing in it, which often involves races and challenging each other to do different strokes. They also spend more time outside in general with the neighbor kids playing pick-up basketball games, kickball, and other games that they do not have as much time for during the year. It’s not as competitive as league play and helps them learn hand-eye coordination, the rules of the games, and sportsmanship.
How do you help your kids learn new things during the summer? Do you encourage them to try new things?
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