Sue G in PA Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Here is what I mean. I would really like my kids to continue learning through the summer. A few things will be a definite...math drills and reading being two. They know that. What are some fun, educational things we can do to continue the learning atmosphere but at the same time not having it feel like actual "school". My older 2 will be going back to ps next year and I KNOW they would like a summer break, so would not be very agreeable to schooling through the summer (neither am I!). Any ideas? I'd like to get get in some science and history as we didn't get much of that done this year. Thanks for your suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Not sure how old your kids are, but here is what we are doing... For history: Since you are in PA, go on some field trips! Go to Gettysburg or Lancaster or Philadelphia, or Hershey, etc, etc, etc. Read some books from the library about whatever place you are going. Maybe watch a movie about it. Make some food that fits in with the theme. For science: Get an informal science experiment book or some inexpensive science kits and have a ball. Go on nature walks or to the zoo, do some birdwatching and keep a notebook of all the birds you see. Make a notebook about plants you see, bugs you find, etc. If the kids are older, maybe they could make an itinerary for an educational day trip they would like to take. You could always make lapbooks about the things you are doing. Good luck and I hope you have a fun (and educational) summer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i.love.lucy Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 How about as part of your reading you find some fun biographies they can read. I'm not so convinced that history *always* has to be taught in a chronological way. You could read about anyone or any time period they enjoy and there's so many ways to find books that relate. That way they'd have some additional history exposure and the reading practice as well. For science I'm going to just get some fun books to "play" with. We're going to do some bug and bird watching, make an ant hill, draw trees, you know...the nature stuff in summer. Pretty much watch it all dry up around here! Also my dd really wants to study volcanoes and some earth science, so she and her dad, with little brother tagging along, will do some stuff with that and we'll probably build our own volcano. We will probably also explore some caves around here since they relate to earth science and geology, plus they are cool in the summer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i.love.lucy Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 For history: Since you are in PA, go on some field trips! Go to Gettysburg or Lancaster or Philadelphia, or Hershey, etc, etc, etc. Read some books from the library about whatever place you are going. Maybe watch a movie about it. Make some food that fits in with the theme. OH! I didn't even think about all the wonderful sites you are so close too!!!! I would totally do that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 We don't do summer school anymore, because at some point I needed the break. However, when mine were younger, we used to do a sort of unit study each summer. Each kiddo had one or two regular subjects to work on independently, usually math and/or foreign languages. They would knock out that stuff first thing in the morning. Then, we'd shift to doing some light, fun stuff together. One year, we did ancient Greece. I bought an activity book and a couple of read-alouds. We got videos/DVDs from the library. Each day, we read and did a craft or activity. A couple of afternoons a week (usually when it was too rainy to swim), they'd watch a video. The next year, it was ancient Rome. We did some of the same kinds of stuff, but that was also the year I introduced Minimus. So, they learned some Latin. Also, at the end of the summer, they did a miniature achaeological dig on our patio. Another year, it was space exploration. Another year, American history. That was when my daughter was seriously into American Girls. It just so happend that AG and Hallmark did a joint promotion that year that had kids doing reading and projects to go with each character. As they finished each one, parents signed off, and then the kids could go to the local Hallmark and get a pin with a picture of the girl on it. My daughter did all of them and collected a complete set. (On the day she got the last one, we surprised her with tickets to AG Place in Chicago, but that's probably more than you're looking for.) We stopped doing this when they were about 10 and 7, I think. At that point, they were both getting more active in outside activities and were busy enough during the summer that it seemed like overkill to insist on more. Plus, I really wanted a break, myself. But it was great while it lasted. We all have good memories of those summers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 We work in the mornings unless we have plans for the day. Sometime in August school shuts it's self down. No one seems to mind and it fills in the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS mom Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Nature journaling/ drawing and bird watching are fun and get you outdoors. Janice VanCleave's books of science experiments are fun. Art Fraud Detective is a fun book. It also showcases many time periods, can start discussions: who the people were, what they were doing, clothing, lifestyles, etc. Oversize art books from the library are great to look at together. You could a use a timeline to choose interesting people or events to read about. You could even make a timeline, as TWTM suggests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 For the past couple of summers, I've had my kids do: - Some math fact software for about 10 minutes a day - Work through a colorful math workbook at the grade level they just completed for review - Participate in the library's summer reading program - Practice 1 - 2 of their SWR spelling lists each day using the SWR spelling cd I had also thought about having them each start a daily journal to keep up with writing skills, but haven't tried that yet. It was totally painless and helped them to keep up their skills over the summer and it required very little of my time. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer in NH Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 board games and card games. There area slew of them out there. Our favorite for Chemistry is Element-O (available at RR). it is like monoploy but with the periodic table. During car rides, long and short..we listen to audio books. My kids love listening to SOTW in the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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