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Summer schooling - how’s it going?


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It’s officially summer! How is everyone’s summer schooling going?

We are more or less on track here. The kids have been out for one week and so far, we have kept to our goal of 30 min of seatwork a day plus assigned reading for my 9 yo and 20 minutes of seatwork/reading for my 6 yo. I am planning to do seatwork 5 days a week with assigned reading every day. Having no homework from school is so refreshing. 

However, next week, they start doing some activities after camp, so I imagine that we will cut back a little. Hope everyone is happily summer schooling!

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Today is our first day, and it has gone well.  Some reading I am focusing on for one of my kids is going to be done at his bedtime.  

One kid is going to have reading time, a little cursive, and a little math review.

The last kid is going to have some math review, and I have ordered the next book in his current series.  I am hoping I can back off and just let him read it in his free time.  We’ll see, lol.  If I need to require reading time for him I will.  But if he does pretty well I am not going to be too picky.  He is on book 5 of a very long series so that is exciting!  

 

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I'm glad for a thread to put down my thoughts on progress.  ?

So far so good, in general, though I didn't have big expectations for work at home.  We have accomplished the following in the first 4 weeks since school let out:

Kid 1:

  • Vision therapy - 4 of the 10 sessions done so far, and homework done roughly 3x per week due to being too busy to do more.  Therapist says she sees progress.  Kid insists she does not actually need therapy, but she is more or less compliant.
  • Math tutoring - in 3rd or 4th week (2 hours per week).  Hard to say how much she is learning.  If this doesn't work, I don't know what will.
  • Scouts - participated in weekend campout at new level.  Made progress toward some badges at the campout - and had fun.
  • Gymnastics - joined a new gym for 1 class while continuing the old class at the old gym.  Hoping to move into a more serious course of training.

Kid 2:

  • Writing tutoring - in 3rd or 4th week (2 hours per week).  She seems to like it so far.  The first day they asked her to write an outline, and she drew a border around the edges of her paper.  I thought they weren't teaching enough in school - that pretty much said it all.  ?
  • [Math - none formally, but she has to complete math activities as part of the library's summer reading program, so I gave her a bridge workbook and told her she can choose random activities.  2 done so far.]
  • Science / engineering - put together 2 Tinker Crates so far.  Interest seems to be waning??
  • Horse riding - 3 days a week of riding / farm camp / volunteering.  This is her happy place, plus she is theoretically learning some responsibility.  ?

Both:

  • 3 weeks of day camp including science, social studies, and Spanish themes.  So far they hit 2 big museums, the zoo, and many smaller museums / points of interest, tried new foods, did some cooking, and helped take care of some little kids.  They made some friends whom they can now text.  ?
  • Reading program - in the 2nd of 5 weeks.  We'll miss half of the in-class sessions due to scheduling issues.  But we can make up 2 missed classes (online) and there is also homework, so it isn't a total waste.  ?  My kids argue that they don't need this, but they are half-heartedly going along.
  • Sports - working on TKD black belt prep, got a new basketball hoop for the backyard, tried Ninja Warrior Training.
  • Literature - Audiobooks:  My Friend Flicka, The Prince and the Pauper; Read-aloud - halfway through Spy School; they are reading Banner in the Sky for the reading program mentioned above; and Kid 2 reads a ton whenever she can.  Kid 2 already got the completion prize for the library summer reading club and is starting another round.  ?
  • Family stuff - puzzles, card games, putt putt, cooking, caring for the house and pets .... not easy to squeeze in much this month as we have some big work deadlines.
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Our summer vacation started a week ago. I am loving time with my child. We spent the past week playing board games & drawing in the mornings, swimming at the pool in the afternoons, & exploring our back yard wildlife in the evenings. We're currently in Costa Rica so it's both a vacation & different kind of 'schooling'. I had planned on 'formally' teaching my daughter to read Spanish this summer but am finding it doable here, with authentic language all around us--BONUS!!

Once we get back mid-July I will review my summer leaning goals but then add ASL and Latin, since they're her current passions. We also have a few nearby domestic trips planned so I'll plan those as well. Overall, a great start to summer!!

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We played with RaspberryPi today. Tomorrow we are going to do some more work with it, maybe using the camera. Last week we built an aquaponics system for an aquarium. We will be traveling some next month, and will be doing some geology stuff about that. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Our trip to Iceland is done.  Hopefully my kids learned some earth science in between playing on their phone games during the car rides.  They both did a bit of reading too.  They said their favorite part of the trip was discovering instant oriental noodles ....  (Yes I know Iceland is not in the orient.)

The previous week, eldest kid had a week-long sleep-away "musical theater" camp on a college campus.  Although she isn't saying too much about it, I think it was great for her on several levels.  I hope she embraces the idea of doing it again next year.  (Other kid did a science day camp involving duct tape.  Though the house is full of duct tape creations now, I don't think she really loved it that much.  She did make some friends though.)

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My kids have been out of school for just over three weeks and today was the first chance to summerschool. I thought I could have them do some work in the evenings after they finished doing junior lifeguards at the beach from 9 to 2 (and some field trip days they didn't get home until 5) but they were exhausted when they came home. Add to that waking up early to watch World Cup Matches and nothing got done. 

So today at least we did some spelling and math. And then they begged to go to the beach. Ugh, after three weeks of sweeping up sand I was hoping for a week off from the beach.

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I have required my 14 year old to do regular reading of her choice and to keep up with her two hour weekly online math tutoring. Since she will not be taking Spanish this year at the high school, she agreed to doing Spanish at home during the summer; right now, other than our regular routine, we have settled into a three day a week more formal session with grammar and other activities.

Everything else she is doing is her choice. She is alternating instruction in her three instruments -piano, bassoon, clarinet- one lesson a week. She is in her third and final week of theatre camp which gets her super tired but super happy too. She is still participating in her Indian dance weekly lesson. Her group just performed in our city's fringe festival, which was awesome, and they have already started preparing for their next show in a few weeks.  She is managing to hang out with friends a couple of times a week too. We have our family vacation at the end of July, then nothing until the week before school starts when she has her school band camp. She likes to keep busy! I am much more laid back but I have learned to go with the flow!

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On 6/23/2018 at 4:20 PM, Earthmerlin said:

Our summer vacation started a week ago. I am loving time with my child. We spent the past week playing board games & drawing in the mornings, swimming at the pool in the afternoons, & exploring our back yard wildlife in the evenings. We're currently in Costa Rica so it's both a vacation & different kind of 'schooling'. I had planned on 'formally' teaching my daughter to read Spanish this summer but am finding it doable here, with authentic language all around us--BONUS!!

Once we get back mid-July I will review my summer leaning goals but then add ASL and Latin, since they're her current passions. We also have a few nearby domestic trips planned so I'll plan those as well. Overall, a great start to summer!!

I am so jealous! Your summer just sounds fabulous!

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On 7/9/2018 at 4:48 PM, Nart said:

My kids have been out of school for just over three weeks and today was the first chance to summerschool. I thought I could have them do some work in the evenings after they finished doing junior lifeguards at the beach from 9 to 2 (and some field trip days they didn't get home until 5) but they were exhausted when they came home. Add to that waking up early to watch World Cup Matches and nothing got done. 

So today at least we did some spelling and math. And then they begged to go to the beach. Ugh, after three weeks of sweeping up sand I was hoping for a week off from the beach.

? in sympathy about the sand. A mom showed me recently how effective talcum powder is to get sand off of kids feet. It's a wonder product!

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On 7/9/2018 at 3:51 PM, SKL said:

Our trip to Iceland is done.  Hopefully my kids learned some earth science in between playing on their phone games during the car rides.  They both did a bit of reading too.  They said their favorite part of the trip was discovering instant oriental noodles ....  (Yes I know Iceland is not in the orient.)

The previous week, eldest kid had a week-long sleep-away "musical theater" camp on a college campus.  Although she isn't saying too much about it, I think it was great for her on several levels.  I hope she embraces the idea of doing it again next year.  (Other kid did a science day camp involving duct tape.  Though the house is full of duct tape creations now, I don't think she really loved it that much.  She did make some friends though.)

I just wanted to let you know that I admire how much you manage to get your girls to get done despite your incredibly busy life.

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This week we were supposed to get caught up on the reading program, vision therapy, and TKD practice that we put off while away from home.  So far we're not doing so good.  See, this is what happens every summer.  We get behind and never seem to catch up.  (I'm not giving up yet though.)  Maybe I need some incentives - for them and for me!

That said, they are learning to cook fabulous international foods this week.  ?  Also getting back in shape with about 12 hours of sporty camps.

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On 7/9/2018 at 3:51 PM, SKL said:

Our trip to Iceland is done.  Hopefully my kids learned some earth science in between playing on their phone games during the car rides.  They both did a bit of reading too.  They said their favorite part of the trip was discovering instant oriental noodles ....  (Yes I know Iceland is not in the orient.)

The previous week, eldest kid had a week-long sleep-away "musical theater" camp on a college campus.  Although she isn't saying too much about it, I think it was great for her on several levels.  I hope she embraces the idea of doing it again next year.  (Other kid did a science day camp involving duct tape.  Though the house is full of duct tape creations now, I don't think she really loved it that much.  She did make some friends though.)

Iceland is amazing! 

My daughter has too much stuff going on with swim, math and social life. On the plus side, August is mostly free. 

Our school's summer reading in high school is YOU CHOOSE BUT WRITE WELL. I love our school district. I think it's a fantastic idea. Not only does it give them a better idea of what kids actually read, but it encourages kids who actually do like English to make an effort. DSS likes English and literature and humanities, but when forced to read stuff over the summer will put in minimal effort. Now that it's his choice we can really demand that he try hard at it. I mean. As much as you'd expect a 14 year old to work really hard at an essay over the summer.

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Now that we're back from Costa Rica, I need to start getinng us into a routine of 'school' (a la relaxed, summer vibe). Any suggestions? I've SO much on my list I need a structured idea of how to get it done (or most of it) in bite-sized chunks. I'd like to rotate through  subjects & perhaps 2 short daily sessions of 'school' might work? How do you guys work it all in when you've got multiple subjects to hit?

In the next week, we're going to Shakespeare in the park (Midsummer), a square dance, a tour of the US Capitol, and then PA Dutch Country. Since there aren't any summer camps lined up for her (except 3 day French & swim lessons), we're keeping busy with outings & neat experiences. I want this to be a summer to remember!

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7 hours ago, Tsuga said:

Our school's summer reading in high school is YOU CHOOSE BUT WRITE WELL. I love our school district. I think it's a fantastic idea. Not only does it give them a better idea of what kids actually read, but it encourages kids who actually do like English to make an effort. DSS likes English and literature and humanities, but when forced to read stuff over the summer will put in minimal effort. Now that it's his choice we can really demand that he try hard at it. I mean. As much as you'd expect a 14 year old to work really hard at an essay over the summer.

That would work for me.  My kids, though, seem to do better with an actual assignment.

My kids' school generally does not assign summer homework.  If they had to read a book and write a paper, one of mine would have been budgeting her time and would get it done as intended, maybe early.  The other kid would save it to the last minute but still get it done.

I'm of two minds regarding summer homework.  When we did get a pile of work before 4th grade, I grumbled because I had already planned the summer out, including academic practice.  But those days my kids listened to me, LOL.  Now I could use some help motivating them.

Of course if you don't need it, then summer homework is just a drag.  I have one who needs it and one who doesn't.  Life isn't fair.  ?

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On 7/11/2018 at 6:58 AM, SKL said:

That would work for me.  My kids, though, seem to do better with an actual assignment.

My kids' school generally does not assign summer homework.  If they had to read a book and write a paper, one of mine would have been budgeting her time and would get it done as intended, maybe early.  The other kid would save it to the last minute but still get it done.

I'm of two minds regarding summer homework.  When we did get a pile of work before 4th grade, I grumbled because I had already planned the summer out, including academic practice.  But those days my kids listened to me, LOL.  Now I could use some help motivating them.

Of course if you don't need it, then summer homework is just a drag.  I have one who needs it and one who doesn't.  Life isn't fair.  ?

I am glad my daughter didn't have summer homework. Her language arts and social studies teacher last year piled on the homework load. I feel she really needed to not have any expectations for written output this summer. Like I said, she is still doing math tutoring twice a week, plus reading, and Spanish, and some other stuff of her choice, but it's different than official school homework.

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9 hours ago, Mabelen said:

I am glad my daughter didn't have summer homework. Her language arts and social studies teacher last year piled on the homework load. I feel she really needed to not have any expectations for written output this summer. Like I said, she is still doing math tutoring twice a week, plus reading, and Spanish, and some other stuff of her choice, but it's different than official school homework.

Similar here.  I do ask a lot of my kids, but I keep reminding them of the 3 things we are free of all summer:  grades, tests, and homework.  (Well, a few activities have homework for part of the summer, but in general no.)

Even without summer homework, I feel like my eldest doesn't really get enough free time for it to be a real vacation.  It's a tough balance.  It's all important - vision therapy/practice, reading / math tutoring / skill refreshers, developing good habits, exercise / confidence building, getting the TKD black belt test behind us ... most of it is intended to make the next school year less stressful.  But she also needs to rest and make some of her own decisions, plans, mistakes.

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W

5 hours ago, SKL said:

Similar here.  I do ask a lot of my kids, but I keep reminding them of the 3 things we are free of all summer:  grades, tests, and homework.  (Well, a few activities have homework for part of the summer, but in general no.)

Even without summer homework, I feel like my eldest doesn't really get enough free time for it to be a real vacation.  It's a tough balance.  It's all important - vision therapy/practice, reading / math tutoring / skill refreshers, developing good habits, exercise / confidence building, getting the TKD black belt test behind us ... most of it is intended to make the next school year less stressful.  But she also needs to rest and make some of her own decisions, plans, mistakes.

Sigh & ugh....I also get resistance--especially with languages. She's quite vocal about her distate of French & Spanish (but they're heritage languages & I'm steadfast)....& now math & history--boring!, she says. Part of me knows it's the nature & growing pains of childhood....the other part says, 'No, you shall not veg out in front of the tube ALL summer'. I have my plans & she has hers...how to meld the two?

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1 hour ago, Earthmerlin said:

W

Sigh & ugh....I also get resistance--especially with languages. She's quite vocal about her distate of French & Spanish (but they're heritage languages & I'm steadfast)....& now math & history--boring!, she says. Part of me knows it's the nature & growing pains of childhood....the other part says, 'No, you shall not veg out in front of the tube ALL summer'. I have my plans & she has hers...how to meld the two?

I would sit with her and calmly go over the whys of your goals. Listen to your daughter's point of view, why is she resisting? Sympathize with her if you can. You might be able to re-evaluate and adjust somewhat. If you will not change your goals, you might need to let your daughter have some degree of control over the how you achieve your goals. Too much pushing can result in outright rebellion and then, what do you do? It's always a fine line... Good luck,

Edited to add: Go to the Bilingual Monkeys blog for ideas on how to make language fun at home. Adam Beck is incredibly resourceful.

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  • 2 weeks later...

A couple more weeks done.

The girls had a week of Jr. Medical Camp - they learned about circulation, fitness, CPR, genetics, and other stuff.  They dissected a heart, a brain, and an eyeball - yuck.  One kid took videos of it, the other left the room, LOL.  They got a stethoscope to keep, and eldest is practicing her vet skills by using it on our guinea pig ....

This week and next week is an outdoor camp.  The activities are educational, but not in the paper-and-pencil sense.  Besides horse riding and swimming daily, they get to choose several other activities each day, including woodworking, archery, riflery, rock / rope climbing, science, fishing, canoeing/kayaking, outdoor sports contests, crafts, ....  The activities each have tiers of skills that have to be learned before they can move on.  They had one overnight involving bonfires, tents, outdoor cooking, etc.  Kid 2 opted out of the overnight, so she did a scout service project instead.

Kid 1 has had a break from math tutoring, due to other schedule stuff.  So far this month she has only gone for 3 hours.  I'm hoping to schedule make-ups for next month.

We got an unexpected writing project though - a thesis that they have to submit to get their black belts.  It's due tomorrow.  So yay, some writing done.  ?

Our July weekends (after Iceland) have been busy with 2 friend get-togethers, a family reunion, a TKD camp, a carnival, and a horse show.

We finished another audiobook - The Call of the Wild.  We finished the read-aloud Spy School and are now into Spy Camp.  Kid 1 has to do some reading for her vision therapy.  Some independent reading is also happening, but I am not pushing it.  As for the 5 week reading program mentioned previously, they finished most or all of the online work, but I may force them to go through one or two "study skills" exercises from classes that they missed.  I should do that this Sunday.

 

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Wow, I cannot believe summer is 1/2 way over! We have had a pretty good balance of rest & activity. August will prove to be on the higher end of being busy. 

In terns of learning, we're doing an amazing amount! We've had several impactful outings (just yesterday US Supreme Court!) and I have more lined up. I am rotating through subjects and presenting them in lil' chunks so as not to overwhelm or engender resistance. I'm trying to incorporate more hands-on science as I tend to neglect that domain. Spanish is going well as is math and I have changed tactics for history (w/ success). We are loving our renewed read aloud sessions! Now I just need to add more French & some writing. 

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1 hour ago, vonfirmath said:

SKL, where do you find these neat camps for older kids?

The Jr. Medical camp is at our local museum of natural history.  These go at least through 8th grade, maybe higher.

There are also camps at the science center up through at least 8th or 9th grade.

Some fancy private schools offer summer camps too.  This year I signed up the girls for 5 weeks of middle school level camps at different private schools.

The music camp was at a local college.

The outdoor camp is for girls up to 15 years old.

I found a lot of the camps by searching online - I just googled and found a long list of many camps available in my metropolitan area - outdoors, academic, arts, whatever.  The key is to check early in the year (January / February) as the best camps fill up super fast.

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  • 2 weeks later...

In the home stretch here - less than 2 weeks until school starts.  This week, the kids are in academic refresher classes.  I'm not sure how much it is helping, but it's probably better than having them here watching TV all day while I work.

This week and next week they are catching up on the math / writing tutoring, after which I think we will stop the paid tutoring.  Their 7th grade schedule is looking better for doing all the homework / afterschooling at home, which we generally prefer.

I bought a few books for the purpose of refreshing / getting ready at home.  Not sure how to implement them, or when we will start.  The focus is math review, vocabulary, and study skills.  I am hoping to start a little before school starts and continue into the school year.

I downloaded some summer math work from a private school's website, and thought of going over it with my kids before school.  Not sure though.  It may be daunting for my eldest, and I'd rather keep things positive.

I want to be a lot more proactive about study skills this year.  I am working on preparing a good space, developing good habits and study logic.  I have a bunch of materials and ideas, but limited time, plus I obviously need to get the cooperation of certain people who would rather binge watch Dance Moms.  ?

We're actively working on the AHG Family Helper badge and have made some progress on a couple others.  Before school starts, I'd like my eldest to put the requirements and accomplishments into PowerPoint to make it easier to manage and document.  In other non-academic news, last weekend was a successful horse show, and this weekend is their black belt test.

For literature, we're now listening to Jane Eyre.  I hear there is a stage production of this story coming here soon, so I'll see if we can attend that also.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Whew, we finished vision therapy & paid tutoring last week.  The kids got their black belts and met their summer goals with the other extracurriculars. 

The last summer camp was enjoyable.  One kid brought home a putt putt golf course that she made (woodworking / STEM camp).  It has a home in our dining room.  The other developed an appreciation for the game "Clue" in her "Super Sleuths" camp.  She was also complimented on her "maturity," a rare comment here.  ?

School starts this Wednesday.  I have some ideas for the next 2 days, but who knows if they will be accomplished....

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