Ideas for temporary bonus study

[MeaganS]

We are going to finish up the school year a month early. We do school year round for our sanity (the routine is important for us) so I was thinking of filling the time with some special studies that I normally don't get to. I was thinking a financial literacy class, maybe an internet safety unit, etc. What are some ideas for stuff like that which will fit in a month? About 3hrs a day total? Mostly for the 9-12yos (the 5yo can tag along or take it easy). 

[MeaganS]

Anyone try Your Business Math from SCM? They would probably get a kick out of running a fake business if it is implemented well. 

[Wheres Toto]

I've done Your Business Math with a class.   It was an interesting concept but very very repetitive.  They basically went through the exact same steps for each "month" of the business.   The orders might vary slightly but what was done with the various numbers was exactly the same.  I ended up combining it with some other ideas and just doing a few "months" of the program. 

 

[2_girls_mommy]

We did a planned unit study on Earth Science one year for summer vacation.  It was something aimed at like 3-6th grades, but my odd may have been going into 7th grade?? I can't remember exactly.  But it covered Bible, poetry, earth and some biology science.  I was needing an Earth Science unit because it was something I felt was lacking for us at the time.  It was scheduled for like a 6 week study, but we drug it out.  I would think cutting out activities could have put it at 4 weeks.  I would just pull anything you felt was lacking and start there.  You have some good ideas. 

[caffeineandbooks]

If you go with the business math course, you might consider reading The Lemonade War along with it (https://www.amazon.com/Lemonade-War/dp/0547237650/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=lemonade+war&qid=1621575208&sr=8-1).  It's a novel about a brother and sister whose sibling rivalry spills over into duelling lemonade stand businesses, and it deliberately introduces some business vocab and sales techniques.  

[knitgrl]

9 hours ago, Wheres Toto said:

I've done Your Business Math with a class.   It was an interesting concept but very very repetitive.  They basically went through the exact same steps for each "month" of the business.   The orders might vary slightly but what was done with the various numbers was exactly the same.  I ended up combining it with some other ideas and just doing a few "months" of the program. 

 

I completely agree with this. I purchased this, and we started it and never finished it. Nice idea, but tedious.

[Carol in Cal.]

Pick an interesting country that kids don’t know much about and study it from all angles.

When I was in school it was common to require this kind of intensive study with a final report a couple of times over the years.  I studied Peru in 5th grade and New Zealand in 9th grade, and have had an abiding interest in both of them ever since.  I did this with DD when she was in about 7th grade, and she studied Japan and really enjoyed it.

You could combine this with a Bravewriter class—these tend to be fairly short and intensive, and boost your child’s writing with outside attention.  And you could follow it with a week at language camp (Concordia Villages) if you’re interested.

Edited May 21, 2021 by Carol in Cal.

[Clemsondana]

Maybe one of the problem-based learning projects?  I know that Royal Fireworks Press has several.  Math topics that aren't in your normal program, like probability? My kids have done programming courses in the summer - scratch is kid-friendly (my older took a semester class, but my younger took a 5-week short course).  Country studies, as suggested above, could be fun - we enjoyed trying food from different countries when my kids were younger (we tried local restaurants and also snacks that we got at World Market).  Logic and logical fallacies or problem-solving (like some of the puzzle books from The Critical Thinking Company) might be a fun summer change of pace.  Music, art, or nature study?  Older did a music appreciation class for the required high school fine arts credit and ended up learning to appreciate different genres of music.  

[ScoutTN]

What would your kids like to study?!

[MeaganS]

Thanks for letting me know that Your Business Math might be a bit dull. That sounds like we may want to give it a miss. 

The kids do tons of interest led stuff for most of the day, so I'm sort of hoping to more do something I wouldn't otherwise do but also that they might not otherwise do. So programming might be a good choice. They've played around on Scratch but haven't really learned how to do much. Or some project that is laid out for me? Is there something like the running your own fake business somewhere else that is done better? I mean, we could just do Roller Coaster Tycoon I guess. 😊

Maybe I should look for some cool Outschool classes or something. Maybe a poetry study or drawing course we could all do?