On the last day of school
students burst out the doors
chanting, "School's out, school's out,
teachers let the fools out."

"Fools? Not so," say the teachers. "Students leave us every spring as efficient, effective learners, but after two months of vacation their minds have turned to mush! We have to spend many weeks every fall reviewing and re-teaching them what they have forgotten over the summer."

There is some truth to this, parents. Everyone forgets details over time and forgets what he or she doesn't apply. But more importantly, it is the habits of mind associated with new learning that we need to keep stimulating in our children during long breaks from school.

I am not suggesting that you set up a classroom in the kitchen, although many homeschooling parents do just that. I am suggesting that you plan activities that involve reading, writing and mathematics in ways that will engage your children so naturally, they won't even realize they're maintaining and continuing to develop strong habits of mind as learners. They will also acquire new skills and information in the process.

Parents usually have plenty of ideas for reading, such as weekly trips to the library, magazine subscriptions, the TV/movie guide, menus, playbills, CD covers -- even some video games require reading. Questions usually arise about activities that lead naturally to writing and math.

Here's how we tackle
summertime in our family.

• Make a calendar
  We create a two-month calendar on one sheet of poster board with enough squares for the whole summer (last day of school in the spring to first day of school in the fall). Our children create the poster board (math and writing built into this activity). We then start filling in the squares with known plans, strong "maybes" and add a wish list along the margins.
• Estimation Contest
  Before traveling, pull out the maps, so the kids can write out the route you're taking, where to stop and miles to each destination. We build in a little estimation contest: each child estimates an arrival time and the one with the closest prediction gets a small treat of some kind (or a privilege). Their estimation skills grow fairly sophisticated as they get older. Studying the maps - writing out the route and having navigation responsibilities on the road -- involve reading, math and writing skills. Knowledge of geography is an added bonus.
• Projects
  Cooking, card games and many craft projects, such as building models and woodworking, involve geometry, estimation, planning and fractions. Your children won't even realize they're internalizing skills in mathematics, because they will be too engrossed in measuring, drawing and fitting pieces together - then admiring (or devouring) their masterpieces!
• Museums
  Visit museums that invite interaction: Museum visits are greatly enhanced (from a learning perspective) if your child invites a friend along, because the interaction between them will usually lead to intense involvement with each activity once an adult or guide has introduced it.
• Join a summer theater:
  Children who act in or help produce theatrical productions engage their minds in countless ways, from reading scripts to memorizing lines, designing and building sets, making patterns and sewing costumes, learning the technology behind lighting and behind-the-scenes jobs to designing and writing programs, selling tickets, promotion, concessions and interaction with the audience on the day(s) of the performance. Personally, I've never forgotten such experiences, from elementary age through college.
• Plan simple social events
  with peers or for the family:
  One summer our son and one of his friends from across the street decided to plan a neighborhood barbecue. They were about 8 and 10 years old. They designed invitations on the computer, planned a menu (and assigned each neighbor what to bring) and organized games (softball and kickball). They had great fun doing it; and the neighbors had great fun at the party. The boys even raided their family attics and found hats for everyone - it was a riot!
• Writing occurs naturally in lots of places:
  journals, letters to friends and relatives (on paper or via email), poetry, songs, grocery lists, art projects with written descriptions and photo albums with captions.

Children's minds absorb new information like drooping plants absorb water. Lead your children into new activities and they will wring them dry. You may have to be a little crafty about it, but that's no problem. You've been staying one step ahead of your children for years, right?

All ideas for summer learning fun gratefully accepted and shared here.

Links

• Zone Summer Crafts & Ideas
• What is "Afterschooling"
• What is "Unschooling"
• Kids' Camps
• Summer activities and themes for kids

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Wild Tulips Interview with Beth Bruno

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Children are better off learning at home, away from the traditional teaching techniques offered by public and private schools. Unschoolers contend that none of us excels at everything, and to expect children to excel in all subjects is unrealistic and harmful to a child's self esteem, drawing children away from feeling useful, productive and involved in the mainstream of the community and society in general. Unschooling parents discover that there are many ways that different children learn the same things, that each child's view of the world is unique, and that choice of methods, tools, etc., can be in constant change. Find out more.

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