Summertime Learning
Thoughts & Reflections
Children are learning all the time. In the classroom, at home, before they start school, at the grocery store. From the moment a child wakes to falling asleep at night, as Maria Montessori said, “The things he sees are not just remembered, they form a part of his soul.” A child is internalizing everything around her; whether or not we intend it to be a lesson, she is always learning. Thank you, I needed to know that, is her mantra.
Through this lens, isn’t Summer the optimal learning time? Though most of us work year-round, the world does seem to slow a bit in the Summer, longer, more temperate days mean more time outside. Dinner can last for hours when it’s on the deck, while adults enjoy a bit of foot-up time and conversation, children can dig in the dirt, make big imaginings, feel those last warm rays of the sun on their bare arms.
For these precious months, we almost slow down to the pace of a child.
Though it’s still so easy to think of learning as school, and school as something that has to be done, instead of joyously celebrated, learning happens all the time.
Children are still learning in these “off” months, but it’s nice to have a few ways, a few tricks up our sleeve, for feeling a bit more intentional about that learning — guiding a child’s focus, while following her interests.
We put together a few ideas, but these are just starting points. How do you guide learning during the off months? We’d love to hear from you!
(1) Spend Time Outside
It’s so wonderful to have longer, warmer days. Unschedule time is such a gift in our busy lives, and whatever we do inside can be done outside. Build Legos, paint, read a book, all outside instead of in!
(2) The Library is your Friend
Some days are just too hot, or you’ve played every game too many times, or we’ve spent every minute together and we just need some space. Public libraries are usually air conditioned, nice quiet spaces to settle in and perhaps find a new favorite series or subject that’s interesting. Plus, it’s great to have a bit of quiet alone time sitting on the floor in the stacks, even for children who might be too old for a nap, but played too hard to make it cheerfully to dinnertime.
(3) Count everything
Blowing bubbles? Count, then pop! Popsicle dripping on the sidewalk? Count the drips! Collecting bugs to observe? How many legs? One of the best things about math, is how it applies to absolutely everything!
(4) Build and Grow
Do you have a space, even a patio the size of a postage stamp, for a little pot? Plant some seeds! Even if they never grow, the smell of fresh soil, seeing how big or how teensy seeds are, checking for buds and watering the pot is a joyful responsibility we can’t always indulge in during the colder months.
Are there ways to say “yes” to imagination? A tree begging for a treehouse? Or perhaps for a birdhouse? Building something together, following a child’s interest, is collaborative, empowering, and involves many skills — concentration, manual dexterity, and logic, to name a few!
(5) Explore
Go on walkabout! An afternoon walking around a new park or downtown, a drive to a nearby city, a vacation in a foreign land, spend ten minutes or all day without a plan. Who knows what you’ll discover! Questions or observations might emerge — find out the answers together!
These are just a few ideas to get started. Summer, like a child, is full of potential. Do you have good memories of Summer? Perhaps an activity you enjoyed, you might like to share with your child? A parent is a child’s first, most important, most loved teacher. Summer is a gift, and a joyful time to learn together.
Written by:
Charlotte Snyder