No More Pencils, No More Books, How To Keep Your Kids Learning All Summer Long

When school draws to a close, I always think about the vast spread of weeks ahead, and how much can be accomplished. Summer is a great time for recharging and switching gears, and for learning. Twelve weeks of free time has unlimited possibilities. To prevent my daughter's little growing brain from getting too mushy from lack of use, I need to be sure she is flexing her intellectual muscles all summer. As a Mom, I get to be the teacher now, which is an exhilarating as well as challenging task.

The biggest challenge that I face as the administrator of my daughter's summer learning experience is sheer resistance. Anything that vaguely resembles schoolwork is immediately shunned, with a scowl and a reminder that "It's summer; I'm supposed to be on break!" This makes my job even more difficult, as now I not only need to find ways to help my daughter learn this summer, but also do it in the sneakiest way possible, so that she thinks she's just having fun.

I have perfected the art of sneaky learning disguised as fun over the last few summers. Once you get into the swing and get creative about it the sky is the limit. Here's how to make the summer fun and educational time well spent:

What Does Your Child Love?

Start by working off your child's interests. Homeschoolers do this all year round. Find the things that your child is passionate about, and build learning experiences around them. For an example, last summer my daughter was fascinated by the Salem Witch Trials. We went to the library, got books related to the trial, and talked about what happened in Salem, and why it was important. We watched movies related to the witch trials, and finally finished off with a trip to Salem, MA for the witch museum and witch dungeons.

You can see how you could expand further, and even apply it to younger children. For instance, if a child loves monkeys, you could talk about monkeys, go to the library and get books about monkeys, do a monkey craft project, dance around outside like a monkey, and go to the zoo and visit the monkeys. The wonderful thing about this kind of learning is that your child gets to do what really interests her, without any restriction.

Use Nature's classroom.

Nature provides infinite opportunities to learn. A trip to the beach can lead to learning about tide pools, the habits of ocean birds, and even how the tides work. For instance, on a trip to the beach, you could find out what kinds of animals you might find, check the tide charts to see when low tide will be, and observe the way erosion has changed the dunes near your beach blanket. Is your child interested in frogs or butterflies? Adopting a tadpole or caterpillar and nurturing it throughout its metamorphosis provides lessons no traditional classroom ever could.

Keep Your Child Writing all Summer

There are so many ways to keep the writing bug alive. One is to start a travel journal. For each place you visit over the summer, the local pool, the zoo, or a trip to visit relatives, take some pictures and let your child add captions or a journal page. At the end of the summer, they'll have a great chronicle of their summer to share with their new friends at school.

Get a pen pal. This can be via snail mail or email, depending on your child's preference. This can be Grandma, a friend that moved away, or someone who lives just down the street. Writing letters provides the additional learning of how to address an envelope and format a letter. Start small, with just a little note at first, and watch the excitement as the letters come in the mail. Make sure the pen pal you choose is one that will write back!

Write to celebrities. Does your child have a favorite T.V. character or actor? Let them write a fan letter. Many celebrities will send back a postcard, picture, or autograph. Some kids have made this a hobby and collected thousands of autographs from famous people.

Read, Read, Read!

It doesn't have to be storybooks either. Try short stories, prose, poetry, historical fiction, jokes, plays and skits, or magazines. Just find some time every day to work in some reading for pleasure. Go to the library and look up your child's favorite actor or sports star. Take turns reading each other the funnies from the Sunday paper.

The most important thing to remember is to make learning a part of every summer day, and make it fun. You will be surprised how much of an impact just a little effort can bring. Focusing on things your child loves, and making it fun will have the best payoff for your child in the end.