THAT Mom
For the first half dozen or so years my kids were in public schools, I was THAT mom. My kids had workbook lessons that became part of their summer chores as seamlessly as did our afternoons at the pool. Before school was even out in May, I would be the mom that people roll their eyes at in the workbook section of Mardel’s or Sam’s, tirelessly comparing curriculum ratings, state testing alignment, and parent reviews. Some of my determination to have my kids keep up their academic strength came from my “day” job as a high school teacher, of course; but let’s be honest: a lot of it came out of my desire for my kids to “get ahead” of everyone else. Other kids may get lag on those multiplication tables, but by golly, MINE were going to go into the next school year AT LEAST as sharp as when they left the last one! (And I secretly hoped that their new teachers would notice how hard I–I mean WE!–had worked all summer long. Oh, and if they had a moment or two in their conference periods, they could shoot me an email praising my awesome parenting skills. That would be fine.)
THIS Mom
Fast forward to this summer, when my kids have already left for their summer visitation with their dad without doing a SINGLE page in a workbooks. I decided to try a different tactic this year; because I have finally realized that there are many more things to “learn” in the summer than multiplication tables. I know now that, besides demanding my kids read every day, my job as a mom is to make sure they experience straight-up RELAXATION when they get a break from school. They won’t instantly lose everything they learned last academic year if I choose to let them play rather than spend gorgeous mornings rigidly sticking to a summer schoolwork schedule. Instead, I have incorporated literature, writing, and math skills into activities that we are already doing on their summer break. (Consider it my modified, single-mama, Montessori-style of teaching…) I’ve let go of the need to extend the style of learning they do all school year, and instead have discovered ways to “trick” them into keeping up their academic skills. Of course, my middle school-age kids know EXACTLY what I am doing, but I still have the upper hand on my kindergartner…
Suggestions for Integrated Summer Learning Activities
The following are a few ways I’ve tried to gently work in academic skills during the summer. You may want to experiment with one or two to see if they work with your kiddos:
- After watching a movie, have a discussion that centers around literary themes. It works with ANY movie, and it’s excellent post-movie chatter for after you finish the summer movie programs that most of our local theaters offer kids in the summer! Talk about how the characters communicated (dialogue), which character it focused on (protagonist), who was “against” that character (antagonist), what the problem was in the movie (conflict), where the story took place (setting), how the story developed (plot structure), what the story tried to teach (theme and moral), and so on. Older kids could even (gasp!) write a short paper about one or two of these literary ideas.
- When you spend time at the pool, read the instructions on the sunscreen and use those details to calculate how often you will need to reapply it, what time that should be, etc.
- Older kids who mow the lawn (because summer isn’t ALL relaxing, y’all!) can predict how long it will take them, how many times they will have to go around the yard, etc. and then compare it to how long the actual job took.
- Car trips are a gold mine for academic skills! Use the mileage signs to work on math skills, create an original narrative that imagines what it would be like for settlers to travel the path you are taking and engage in a pass-it-around story, print a map of the United States to keep tally marks of the license plates you see, and more. The possibilities for summer schoolwork on the open road are endless, really!
- Another great way to incorporate summer learning is to use all of the endless computer tools available. For example, Google has created a great resource through Maker Camp (www.makercamp.com). For those of you who may have kids who love to tinker and build, this is an excellent way to hone those engineering skills throughout the summer! Kids can join in with other “tinkerers” from around the world to work on projects, go on virtual field trips, and explore their inner builder!
I hope you take the time this summer to TRULY enjoy your kids and encourage their continued learning. Workbooks and carved-out academic time have their place in the summer; but there is nothing better than watching your kids make academic connections to everyday life.
What sort of summer schoolwork do you provide for your kids?
