This may be a pretty strange question, and I'm sure there are two sides to the fence...I'll just jump on the fence post and see where I land! LOL! I have four boys ranging from 8 yrs. to 17 months. Yes, it can get sticky at times, and no, it's never quiet! Wouldn't change it for the world, though! My husband and I have been blessed. My two oldest are 8 and 6, and although one is already participating in the AIG program in the schools, but 6 year old is just now getting his feet wet, and we are going to throw him to the AIGers next year. They are both very bright, love reading, math, etc. They're just sponges! Anyway, my 8 year old has been lucky enough to attend a camp in NY this summer, so he is with family and living it up...all the while being 100% stimulated as well as getting in some city life once more (we are transplants). Plus, he's much more independent, so he's not crying every day, ether! (I would have!!) My 6 year old isn't as lucky (yet). We already have him in a local arts class, slated to start a musical instrument, as well as supplimenting him as best as we can on a day to day basis. The only other option I COULD come up with would be something like "homeschooling" but only for the summer. I would have loved to homeschool all of them full-time, and I'm not off of that wagon completely, but sometimes I just don't know if *I* am smart enough for that one! I helped the boy's school out by proctoring with the EOGs, and MAN...let's just say one of the practice questions had me blank...but at the end of the day, when I asked my oldest what the answer was, he told me, blankly, and then looked at me like, "wow! you really are dumb!" Yeah, imagine that...he thought his mom was "dumb" and I was an AP graduate, Presidential Scholarship winner, as well as Honors and the whole ball of wax! Then again, that was a LONG time ago. Maybe I could get away with telling them that "back in the days of cassettes and vinyl records"... Do any of you guys have any good ideas or sources for my little guy? Sitting idol isn't his speed, nor is a daycamp environment. He's still tugging Mommy's coat tails.
I would suggest free movies, parks, swimming, nature hikes, zoo/aquarium memberships, planetarium, maybe get a Civil War Trail map and take that up as a hobby visiting battlefields and homes that were occupied, there are also museums like the Tobacco Farm Life museum in Kenly, the Duke Homestead in Durham, Carnivore Preservation Trust in Pittsboro, etc. Check out the Carolina Parent online or pick up a free copy at your ped's office - they have a monthly calendar with things to do. As far as homeschooling and actually education him over the summer... it's summer, give the kid a break and his teachers will probably appreciate it as he won't be bored out of his mind in class next year.
I agree I agree with cleo - with all the stuff she mentioned. Just keep him reading, and active. Apply everyday activities to his math, science, reading (keep him reading anything, if you go to a store, do math problems, etc). Some kids do regress over the summer, but if you keep them active this way, they should be fine.
Cooking and baking is a good way to hone math/science skills. Make your own plaster, use newspaper strips and cover a balloon - voila - a pinata. Flour, water, salt - play dough. Banana bread is simple enough to make. Eggs can be prepared different ways. Throw one in the microwave and watch it explode!
I agree with not too much school during the summer. I do a little math, reading and writing with my daughters for about an hour a day maybe 3 days a week. Sometimes less...sometimes we just go play! They love it but aren't overloaded. We went to the library and picked out a few books. I write down questions for my daughter answer based on what's she's read. We also use flash cards. Basically, whatever's cheap but still fun is our thang!
I let their processors cool down a bit from the school work. If they are intellectuals, maybe get them started on a second (or third) language. I've seen what cramming a young head full of "book smarts" can do. They can tell you the chemical composition of rain but don't know to get out of it.
We are doing "homeschooling" over the summer. I homeschooled 2 of mine last year. I have 7 ranging in ages from 6 to 16. We go from 9 to 11 M-F. First hour is spent reading & individual work. 2nd hour is group work for all of us. Pick a topic a week. First week, we did dinosaours and learned a bit about them. We also did a dinosaur model, watched Jurassic Park(you'd be shocked what you could learn form that movie), and build a skelton fossil model as well. Cool stuff and the kids were really engaged. we did birds teh second week. They painted a bird on canvas and we were going to make homemade birdfeeders. Then, realized there are no pinecones around & none at Michaels till October. Scrapped that project--LOL. This week we were supposed to do 4th of July stuff but got sidetracked by way too many appointments. Next week back on track though. What I did was asked each of my 7 what they wanted to learn about over the summer. We'll do 8 weeks worth of stuff. They haven't complained so far and really have liked doing some of the things. So much on line for sure and used a lot of my homeschooling sites for ideas as well. It's only 2 hours but it really does help w/ the day. The rest of teh time they have w/ friends. There are typically 10 to 12 kids here everyday at any given time. So, they definitely are yhaving plenty of summer fun w/ friends, swimming, activities, etc. But, they are also learning. We're going to do a unit on sea animals and such in August and then suprise them w/ a trip to the beach & aquarium. Next week, we're going to a local farm in Clayton. So, when the teachers asked if they did any work over the summer, my kids can honestly answer yest. And they had fun doing it & that's what counts. STephanie--mom to 7
You can consider doing some unit studies on areas of interest to him. You most likely can google and find resources with project ideas related to the theme. Field trips, summer reading, etc... can be related. Google lapbooks . You'll find a tone of neat ideas. A superb resource for curriculum and enrichment materials is Homeschool Gathering Place http://www.homeschoolgatheringplace.com/ The store is located just north of Crabtree Valley Mall, just off Glenwood Rd.
Thanks so much!! Well, I knew that there had to be two sides to the fence (leave him and let him rest or suppliment when you can). Unfortunately for him, my only option IS to suppliment. He's essentially told me he's reaching bored in record time!! He LOVES learning things, and although I didn't apply the concept, I wanted to thank everyone that also suggested a few ways to naturally suppliment him, ie the parks, museums, etc. I love this site!! I "read" a lot and "say" little, but the things I've learned have been tremendous!! Kudos to 4042 for being so amazingly connected and friendly! Tiffany
