Five MORE Ideas for Summer Learning

Last Monday I shared five ideas for keeping your children learning through the summer. This week I'm going to share five more ideas!

Taking a Class

Your town may offer a cooking class, art lessons, film study, or photography course over the summer. Many teens and preteens would love to do something like this! Summer is also a great time to try a new activity such as karate, dance, baseball, swimming, or gymnastics. Lots of places offer a free trial class or discounted trial week or month. When Titus started taking Tae-Kwon-Do, he went to a free trial class to see if it would be a good fit for him. He loved it and has been taking since January! Many towns have a YMCA with many different sports and activities for kids. Ask around and you may be surprised at what you find!

Picking up a Hobby

With so much free time in the summer, your child may just get bored enough to try a new hobby. Birdwatching, woodworking, painting, sewing, and gardening are all productive hobbies to pick up. If your child has shown interest in something, maybe you could feed that interest with a new book, art supplies, or seeds to plant. 

Seeding out vegetables for our garden

My kids have been practicing magic tricks! They went to a one-day camp a few weeks back and there was an illusionist performing. They both were really interested! Silas bought a book called "Easy Magic Tricks" before he came home and our pastor picked them up a beginner's magic set. They've been working on tricks and even had a magic show for us the other day!

YouTube

I know, most parents want their kids away from screens in the summer - and I get it! I'm one of them. We really limit screentime year-round, but when it's nearing 100 degrees outside (or more here in Louisiana) I do tend to allow screens in the daytime. My boys have recently been watching videos on milking snakes for their venom to make antivenom. I don't know why or how they get interested in this topic, but they are learning! They also watch lots of videos about different animals and survival skills. My daughter watches tons of videos on how to train her horse to barrel race, which is what she's been doing all year. There are tons of educational yet interesting videos on YouTube; just be careful what your children are watching! I make mine sit at the kitchen table while watching just to be sure.

Volunteer Work

Your child may be enough to volunteer at a local vet, the library, a nursing home, or even at church with younger kids. Even if you don't want to commit to volunteer work, your child can do many things to help others out. Collecting dog toys and treats for the local pet rescue center, adopting a grandparent from the nursing home, setting up a canned food drive for the food bank, or visiting an elderly neighbor or relative once a week are all great ways to start volunteer work. Go to an animal rescue center to play with the kittens and puppies. Take a walk and pick up the trash along your road. Learning practical ways to help others is a wonderful life skill for your children, one that will be beneficial for the rest of their lives. Click here for more ideas.

Science Experiments

Almost every child loves science experiments! Summer is the perfect time for experimenting! Pick up a book from the library or order one from Amazon with lots of ideas for science experiments. Maybe you could dedicate one day a week to the science experiment your child chooses. You could even get together with friends or neighbors and put together a science fair show! There are so many ideas online for this. We had a science fair with some homeschooled friends a few years ago, and it was so much fun! The kids learned so much by planning and executing their science projects and then creating a display board and presentation. 

Summer is the perfect time to try some new activities and keep the learning going. Have you done any of these activities with your children?