|
Summer Adventures
QUESTION:
Summer is half over. With another month of vacation ahead, my kids are
already complaining about being bored. As a working parent, I think the
school break is too long, don't you?
ANSWER:
Actually, yes, I do think the summer break is too long. I favor year
round schooling with two-week breaks built into the schedule throughout
the year, so families can enjoy all four seasons for vacationing. Such
a schedule would better fit the lives of today's families in which most
adults work outside the home throughout the year, requiring them to make
piecemeal childcare arrangements during the summer. Also, too much
vacation time can lead to regressions in academic skill retention for
some children.
However, since the idea and practice of year round schooling hasn't
taken hold in very many places, parents, grandparents and childcare
providers need to come up with creative, fun and constructive activities
for young people.
John Stratton sent me the following description of a terrific activity
he observed:
"The other day we took our boat up to the head of a Connecticut River
estuary and beached it on a small, low, not-too-muddy island to stretch
out. On the other end of the sandbar were a dad and his two kids, about
seven or eight years old. The kids were playing in the water,
exploring, finding treasures, being brave. Their canoe was around the
bend a bit.
"It was a peaceful Saturday. In the distance, the overgrown pastures
were green, the old farmhouses were tucked away in the trees. It could
have been 1890, 1920, 1940, 1950. But not 2002, when most kids would be
stashed in the back of the minivan headed for soccer practice or T-ball
practice or Little League — or some other Constructive Thing, carefully
scheduled to fit in to a busy weekend.
"Not that there is anything wrong with skill-building activities. Yes,
it’s good for you; it’s a lot better than the TV diet. But that dad had
the right idea. He took his kids on an independent adventure, a place
they'd never been, and let them explore it by themselves, and learn a
little more about who they were becoming — on their own, with the
illusion of being unsupervised.
"I left the island about when they did. They were off in their canoe,
dad in the stern, both kids in the bow with their own paddles, pulling
smoothly, heading for home. A nice Saturday afternoon."
When my husband and I were in Cleveland taking care of our two grandsons
while their parents were away, we went to a major league baseball game
between the Indians and Yankees, quite a treat for our 8-year-old
"statistician," who knows every detail about every Cleveland Indian
except his shoe size. What a treat to razz his grandfather, a
died-in-the-wool Yankees fan. They sat in the sweltering heat, unwilling
to miss a single second of a great baseball game, which was decided in
the bottom of the ninth by a grand slam home run.
Another favorite activity that consumed hours of indoor time was playing
cards. We taught them lots of games we had learned as kids, and they
loved them . . . couldn't get enough of them. "Crazy eights" and "go
fish" and "hearts" and "slap jack" – simple games that require learning
how to keep score, plan a strategy, accept defeat, enjoy victory and
engage each other in conversation around the table.
There were occasional hours of TV or movies, to be sure, but mostly we
came up with activities that were new to them (or variations on familiar
ones) and, in the process, came to know each other better. That was the
best part of all. Now we have dozens of inside jokes to tell them on the
phone from afar and an eagerness to be together again, just the four of
us. Any weeks that bring the generations closer together make those long
summer vacations worth every minute.
***
Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.
Previous columns are available.
|
