Continue Learning Over the Summer

Thinking about summer vacation? Ever think of a family field trip as educational? Vacations, kids, and learning are critical interplays. 

Continue your child's learning over the summer, in a relaxing way, by visiting historical sites, reading maps, playing I Spy or other thinking games, listening to stories on tape, and reading together (if you don't get car sick) along the way. Or good grief - talking! Get to know each other better,
improve your relationship, and teach needed social skills.

Put away - or silence - the GPS and talk about geography, practice your child's math problems, or help him calculate distance to keep the trip interesting and educational.

For children 2-5 years

When you do stop to visit a site, practice budget by setting spending limits for your child or your whole family.
Most public libraries allow vacationing parents to check out books and CDs for extended periods. Allow your child to select a book about your destination to read along the way. You don't have to nurture the bookish Brick behavior on TV's The Middle but, do encourage knowledge through books.

My A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts co-author, Karen Robbins, wrote a similar post, "Educational Vacations," that you'll find helpful.

School teachers tell me that they spend the first half of the academic year playing catch-up or testing to see what the students retained from the previous year. You can give your child a distinct advantage by continuing learning over the summer.