Schools Out for Summer

I always looked forward to summer break when my kids were young.  I loved the flexibility of taking trips any day of the week and the flexible bedtimes. There were no lunches to pack, no school clothes to have ready, we all got to sleep in a bit longer, no buses to catch, and no homework deadlines.

I miss the days of cheering for my kids at the summer evening t-ball and softballs games. Those games were always so much fun! I don't ever remember my kids complaining about being bored during their summer break. We had plenty on our "family time" schedules and they were all really good at keeping themselves busy. It didn't hurt that we had a total of 13 cousins living as neighbors and best friends.

While I did work to enrich their summer breaks I did not spend much time keeping them brushed up on their school studies through the summer. I am pretty darn amazed at the young parents today. My oldest daughter who is the mother to three little boys has planned a reading program for her boys that includes book reports! They also plan to learn all about snakes this summer. What little boys wouldn't love that? There will also be swim teams, Karate, Invention camp, and swim lessons for the youngest.

My kids always did well in school so I guess my negligence regarding academic skills through the summer didn't do too much damage. Today there are so many resources just a few mouse clicks away that can be used for teaching and enriching children. Pick a topic or an activity and chances are somebody else has already done all the work for you to copycat and use!

I have one grandson who is very gifted. His parents have to work extra hard to keep him challenged throughout the summer. School work has always come easy to him but his very bright mind has to be constantly challenged. While my daughter loves all of the same things I did about summer breaks her  experience isn't as carefree as mine was. She takes her job of keeping her very bright son and his two brothers challenged and learning over the summer very seriously. While tutors are generally used to assist with problem areas of learning private tutoring services for this grandson in an area or two that he is interested in would be a dream summer for this particular grandson and a huge help to his parents.

How are summer breaks for you?