Though it’s the beginning of the official summer, ironically, we have been experiencing the most extended summer vacation, probably a bit too long for our likings. At the beginning of the semester, no one in their right mind could have possibly envisioned the extent of this uninvited hiatus. Right now, no one can project the end of this unofficial makeshift vacation as well, parents are coming up with ways to study at home since children are released from active school duties.
But, since every cloud has a silver lining, this supposed summer break, however improbable it may seem, can be used for something good. Many parents, who are understandably worried about the loss of must-needed opportunities to travel or to engage themselves into family fun, are now contemplating new ways to study at home to expedite their children to learn more, maybe even outside the realm of their stipulated course work.
I am sure many of you have already incubated ideas about how you can seize the full might of your children into worthwhile vacation-spending activities. Still, you can look into my seven fun ways to absorb your children into studying at home during this summer vacation:
1. Planning A Vacation In A Historical Place Of Interest:
Don’t get on cloud nine just yet thinking the pandemic has finally come to an end. Instead, consider it as a folly, to achieve two things.
The first can be diverting your children’s gloom to something joyous, prompting them to remind that shortly, however late it may arrive, the pandemic indeed would come to an end. So, it’s just an exercise of how efficiently you can indulge yourself in future planning.
The second aspect of this planning, a future trip to a place of historical interest, is what I am after. And I also want you to consider thoughtfully.
Request your children to make a plan for a future trip for their liking. Tell them to find out everything they can about that place. They can go online, read books about that place, see YouTube videos, or watch documentaries if they feel necessary. Also request them to pinpoint the most critical area of their future itinerary, why that place is significant, where you can stay when you go there, how much money it would cost – I mean everything they can think of importance about that place which would be necessary to know beforehand.
I hope you are on the same page as me now. When and if the children commit to this innovative project of yours, they will learn all the historical facts, geographical wonders, cultural diversities of that place – in short, the project would be a great fun project to learn history, geography, and hospitality management.
2. Teach Math – In A Way They Never Knew Possible:
This summer vacation can be an excellent time for you to invent new ways to study at home while honing your children their math skill. You see, not only teachers or the primary texts, but you and your monthly household expenditures can be great teachers for your children to teach mathematics.
Every month you have to spend more or less the same amount of money for the family as groceries. Then there is fish, meat, vegetables, etc. I mean, you know what you have to buy for the rest of the family, and you know what grocery shopping will cost you. You can more or less assume the weight as well. And of course, you know how much you are earning every month, though you don’t have to disclose the amount.
Now you assign the duty of grocery shopping to your child. Tell him or her to make a list first. Show them the freezer section, the kitchen where the imperishable items are usually are stored away. Tell them about the brands, the price fluctuation with product differentiation, in terms of money the difference between prime cut ribs or sirloin steaks – in summary, you tell them about the whole grocery shopping you usually do for the family in any particular month.
After the on-job training, assign your children the responsibility of formulating a budget for the upcoming month. Also, they need to stash away some cash for the rainy days as well. And let them know the available amount they can spend.
If you can pursue the children to go through the news ways to study at home, believe it or not, the children will learn many things. Your kids will learn how to add, multiply, subtract, or extrapolate. They will also learn the value of money and the importance of saving. They will develop a lot of respect for you while going through the whole process.
3. Train Them To Be A Physical Trainer:
The complicated modern way of life demands every breathable part you can engage in. Our young ones are not an exception to that. Daily attendance, weekly quizzes, assignments, grades, peer pressure – they also have a lot to deal with.
So unless your child is the regular fixture of the School Soccer team, you and your child both are likely in terrible physical shapes. So the summer vacation you are going to have this year, make it a promise for you and for your child that you are not going to have another bad-health-day in your life by adopting new ways to exercise at home.
There are over millions of free training regimes available online – you can print them, or you can stream them. So after a bit of research with your child, select a trainer or a fitness center to follow and then start following them for real. There are many little hidden gems inside a detailed training program that is well-researched and can make the physical change you want. So, your child’s physique will not only get a right push in the right direction, but he or she will also learn many vital details about general well-being scenarios.
4. Make Them A Reader:
From the moment you knew for the first time that you were going to be a mom or a dad, you probably have read for the millionth of time about the importance of raising a reader. And they all were written for valid reasons. It is a fact that you can’t overstate the importance of reading.
Excellent and jolly good! But how are you going to rope them in to new ways to study at home without being overtly patronizing? First, do it yourself and let them see it. Never miss a bedtime story-telling opportunity or making a subtle condescension about any particular book. When they are in, and surely they will be – because every child loves mimicking their first real-life superheroes – make books available all the time.
But for this summer, be a bit of an honest manipulator. If the next year’s school curriculum is possibly full of science-heavy, get books were accessible, funny, and easy-to-do experiments are described vividly. If your child doesn’t see anything unusual in Physics or Chemistry, like he or she is never going to be a science-buff, gather literary classics as much as your abode can provide space for. If your kid is a handyman with his or her hands, make DIY books available.
In short, let them direct towards their path, about which they might have not yet been sure.
5. Get The Greens Grown By Your Kids:
I can add nothing new about gardening, which you probably don’t know already. Gardening can be used as one of the ways to study at home for your kids. So, just let me tell you how you can get the children to be active in gardening this summer.
It’s simple – you do gardening at first. Let them show how you make the little piece of land around the house, giving the greens that are on your table – during lunch or dinner. No matter what type of vegetable you have grown or how little the quantity is – make a big deal about it, let everyone know what a great job you have done. That should be enough to lure them in. As I mentioned earlier, every child imitates their parents unknowingly. So, you have got a high chance of having them with you shortly.
So, when children start gardening, they will know many things about the natural environment. They will know about the density of the soil; they will learn about earthworms or roundworms, and in general, many other things that would be directly beneficial for achieving a good grade in biology.
6. Encourage Them To Be A Writer:
I can give at least two ideas about how you are going to get your children to be a writer.
First, announce giving a prize every two days to the best logbook writers of the house. Let everyone know that everything is permissible, and anyone can write about absolutely anything they want to write. Never whine about the length or the grammar – as long as you can get the writer’s thought no matter how slight the way he or she has written – the entry in the competition is granted. The only disqualifying incident will be copying – from anywhere.
Another way to inspire about writing is to encourage them to compile a book of favorite recipes of the family members. It worked for my 12 years old who started collecting recipes from her grandmother – in her logbook, with little drawings and incoherent descriptions about the cooking process. But whatever the end product looked like, the thing got her into writing.
You can try this as well.
7. Encourage To Embark On A Project Of Their Own:
This is an idea to instill a sense within your child. Encourage them about starting a project of their own. It can be anything – like learning origami. The Internet is full of ideas that can be implemented during this ‘stay-home’ summer vacation. All you need is to encourage your child to find their ‘niche’ and embark upon it.
There you go – my seven fun ways about how to study at home during this year’s summer vacation.
I sincerely hope you enjoy my writing and find the ideas helpful.
