And so it’s summer time for us. School ended late last week. Starting up in mid May and extending all the way until the final half hour that they get out of school in mid June, I have this background of anxiety that builds up…’what am I going to do with these kiddos all summer?’ Last year I really needlessly worried about it, yet once summer began we fell into a pretty good lazy, relaxing rhythm. I was even sad to see us jump back to the school routine once September began. This May, when I started to feel that anxiety creep back I tried my best to calm myself. I stocked up a little stack of new books and activities in the back closet and a list of summertime activities to turn to if things get desperate, but other than that, this summer I’ve named the Summer of Freedom. This article from a blog I read frequently was running all over facebook a few weeks back and it totally hit home. An old fashioned summer, it argues, isn’t about specifically catching fireflies or flying kites or eating popsicles, it’s about Freedom. About kids being in charge of their own time table, about diving into whatever interests them. It’s a great article, you should read it if you have a minute.
How can you give your child a good old-fashioned summer like we used to have?
It’s not about fireflies or picnics or homemade kites. It’s about freedom.
Leave them alone.
Let them be in charge of their own time.
Let them have their own ideas.
Give them big, sprawling blocks of unscheduled time. Give them whole days, whole weeks.
Let them dig into whatever interests them and do whatever they want with it.
– See more at: http://www.project-based-homeschooling.com/camp-creek-blog/intellectual-benefits-real-old-fashioned-summer#sthash.YnWeC43K.dpuf
How can you give your child a good old-fashioned summer like we used to have?
It’s not about fireflies or picnics or homemade kites. It’s about freedom.
Leave them alone.
Let them be in charge of their own time.
Let them have their own ideas.
Give them big, sprawling blocks of unscheduled time. Give them whole days, whole weeks.
Let them dig into whatever interests them and do whatever they want with it.
– See more at: http://www.project-based-homeschooling.com/camp-creek-blog/intellectual-benefits-real-old-fashioned-summer#sthash.YnWeC43K.dpuf
How can you give your child a good old-fashioned summer like we used to have?
It’s not about fireflies or picnics or homemade kites. It’s about freedom.
Leave them alone.
Let them be in charge of their own time.
Let them have their own ideas.
Give them big, sprawling blocks of unscheduled time. Give them whole days, whole weeks.
Let them dig into whatever interests them and do whatever they want with it.
– See more at: http://www.project-based-homeschooling.com/camp-creek-blog/intellectual-benefits-real-old-fashioned-summer#sthash.YnWeC43K.dpuf
How can you give your child a good old-fashioned summer like we used to have?
It’s not about fireflies or picnics or homemade kites. It’s about freedom.
Leave them alone.
Let them be in charge of their own time.
Let them have their own ideas.
Give them big, sprawling blocks of unscheduled time. Give them whole days, whole weeks.
Let them dig into whatever interests them and do whatever they want with it.
– See more at: http://www.project-based-homeschooling.com/camp-creek-blog/intellectual-benefits-real-old-fashioned-summer#sthash.YnWeC43K.dpuf
How can you give your child a good old-fashioned summer like we used to have?
It’s not about fireflies or picnics or homemade kites. It’s about freedom.
Leave them alone.
Let them be in charge of their own time.
Let them have their own ideas.
Give them big, sprawling blocks of unscheduled time. Give them whole days, whole weeks.
Let them dig into whatever interests them and do whatever they want with it.
– See more at: http://www.project-based-homeschooling.com/camp-creek-blog/intellectual-benefits-real-old-fashioned-summer#sthash.YnWeC43K.dpuf
We ran all over this town during spring, with two in separate baseball teams, one in ballet and all three in school with different dismissal times. Schedules ran tight, tension ran even higher. We’re tired, our poor car is tired. My oldest, who loves baseball, turned to me one day in the car and said, “I can’t wait until baseball is over, because we never get to go home and play afterschool.” Well now baseball is over and so is school and as far as I can see, we have little to nothing scheduled on our calendars. Find yourself again, children. Enjoy & have fun.
(do you see? we have deck steps and shade, just in time for summer!)
Wonderful insight, so simple and true. Thank you!
I love all your garden views. The light bouncing around the pictures is beautiful!
I LOVED the article! So many of the things she mentioned in children’s creative play was stuff my girlfriends and I did. I remember just laying in the grass talking quietly and exploring every blade of grass and every weed. so many times I’d come into the house with a yellow nose because I sniffed so many dandelions. So many memories are flooding back from those long summers in Peoria, IL.
It’s a good article, isn’t it mom? I’m glad it brought back good memories for you!
I loved summer with my kids when they were little! I truly tried to mak it a summer of freedom for them. I hope they remember it that way now that they are grown!