Every Summer Has A Story

“It is the simple things of life that make living worthwhile, the sweet fundamental things such as love and duty, work and rest, and living close to nature.” — Laura Ingalls Wilder

The end of the school year is near.  While summer vacation is indeed a time to rest and renew, it is also a time to continue learning, a time to “keep the cobwebs away” as I like to tell my students. Parents often ask for ideas on how to keep their children engaged and learning over the summer. How does one keep the cobwebs away? 

The students will have their summer packets from school.  This guided work should not be considered a chore, nor should it be completed in one week before school starts.  Spread out this learning doing a few pages every week.

LCS students will also have their summer reading. If your child is younger and you are reading to them, engage them with voice inflection and dramatic pauses. If you are reading with your child, take turns reading pages.  Model proper reading, like pausing at commas and stopping at periods.  Get a second copy of the book so they can follow along as you read and vice versa.  If your child is older and reading alone, get that additional copy and read the book as well, turning it into a family book club.

Summer is the time to read. Children should be reading every day.  Make summer reading a family experience, as reading books together is a great way to connect.  Each member of your family can even keep a reading log and have a competition to see who can read the most books or the most pages.  We all know to limit screen time.  Earning screen time can be made into a fun challenge by rewarding books read or pages read with screen time.

Remember, reading is not just about reading words—it is about understanding the story—the comprehension piece. Talk about the book, ask questions, discuss the plot, make predictions, examine new vocabulary words, and discuss the characters and settings.

People often ask me where my love for all things Little House came from.  I have my older sister to thank for this.  It was she who bought me my first set of the Little House books.  One summer, these books transported a young girl in Brooklyn, New York to a world in the past filled with experiences and vocabulary that I had never heard of before.

Your child may find a book that transports her or him, too.  Visit the library together and involve your child in selecting her or his own books.   The local library has a summer-reading program for both children and adults where you can win prizes.  The library also has events nearly every day.

 “Layer” the learning.  If your child is reading a book about dinosaurs, visit a museum with dinosaurs, build a Lego dinosaur, make your own fossils, and watch a show about dinosaurs.

And yes, there are many good movies out there based on books. But read the book first….it is always better.

Summer is the time to do the many things you did not have time to do during the school year. Visit local museums or art galleries.  When visiting a museum, turn the visit into a small scavenger hunt looking for displays or works of art tied to something your child learned this year. Offer your child a small treat or prize if they find one. If you are traveling somewhere, research local museums there, too.  You never know what you will find. One spring break, my family and I took a road trip to the Great Sand Dunes in southern Colorado where we found a little museum named Fort Garland that had an amazing diorama on the Civil War.

Summer is the time to go to the pool, play board games, do a puzzle, take the dog for a walk, go biking—together. Go on a nature walk or hike.  Most natural areas and state parks offer summer programs, lectures, and activities.   If you are visiting a National Park, don’t forget the free Junior Ranger program. This usually consists of a booklet to be completed that combines games and educational activities about the park you are visiting.

Play games in the car.  One suggested to me was called the “topics game"—choose a topic (simple machines, for example) and take turns saying one part of that topic, each in turn until one person can't think of something or says something twice and is out. This can be done after something exploratory, such as a hike, musical performance, or museum visit.  

Activities can also be as simple as getting a coloring book with fairytale pictures if your child learned about fairytales this past year.  You can then talk about the fairytales as you color.

Incorporate math into everyday activities such as cooking, cleaning, and gardening. Have your child help make a meal from a recipe.  Give your child a small allowance when she or he does chores and help her or him create a budget for spending.  Count all the red Legos as you build something creative. Practice math facts using dice or playing cards.  Build something that requires measuring.

Don’t forget penmanship and writing.  Arrange a pen pal for your child.  The pal could be a relative or friend.  Have her or him write actual letters or postcards and mail them.  If you are off to work in the morning, keep a back-and-forth “journal” with your child, asking and answering questions daily.   Creative writing was always my go-to as a child.  I would write books and draw the illustrations.

Scrapbooking can be a fun way to combine all of this.  Younger kids can develop fine-motor skills by learning to use scissors and glue.  Older kids will keep developing their writing and spelling skills. Together, you can purchase supplies. This scrapbook will be a great memory of the summer you had together.

These are just a few ideas to strike a balance between summer fun and summer learning. Children who have rested, played, and learned over the summer will be children who are prepared, confident, and ready for the new school year.

“We start learning the minute we're born.  And if we're wise, we don't stop until the Lord calls us home.” — Laura Ingalls Wilder