Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Summer activities?

Summer vacation will be here soon, and I am looking for resources. DD10 and DD11 will be taking fun sports classes, Chinese (which they love), and swimming. All these classes ended up in the evening or late afternoon. So, besides hanging out at the pool and having as many play dates as possible, I was wondering if there are some fun online classes they could take. I will not survive the summer if we have too much down time (sibling rivalry might do me in). I have looked at our local city parks and rec sites and other organizations, but they are all doing camps which I don't want (for financial and time purposes). Duke Tip has some fun classes, but the description states they last 6 month or longer. Any ideas? DD10 loves science. She is currently doing the Khan Academy programming class for fun (addicted might be the more accurate state of mind) while DD11 takes an evening math class.

Sounds like they have a lot going on already. I'm the type of parent who think kids need some unstructured time to be creative.

What about programs at your local library? My local library always has summer programs.

How about suggesting that each kid film their own movie, write and direct. They could get friends to act in it, claymation, or animation. After filming they could learn how to edit it on the computer. Could take up a lot of fun creative time. At around this age my son got a claymation kit for Xmas one year he had fun with.. but it can be done by just buying the right kind of clay at a art supply store & the camera on a cell phone.

What about a Rasberry Pi? https://www.raspberrypi.org/ There are a lot of websites that have projects for kids. This might be easier if mom or dad or someone you know can help when things go wrong.

Probably above your budget but If your willing to spend a lot of $$ on supplies. You can buy your own Lego robotics Mindstorms Kit. There are instructions that come with it and many different Robots can be made from it. Most kids I know learn how to do this at Robotic's camps & clubs these days but it's not necessary.

Library for us. And check out your movie theaters...we have dollar movies (not first run) once a week the whole summer.

Re. Raspberry Pi, be sure to get the Pi 2 as it is much more powerful with more ports and only relative peanuts more $$

Pi comes with its own Linux implementation and IDLE which is the Python IDE so with the purchase of a monitor, a keyboard and a USB wifi/Bluetooth dongle you kid has their own computer to learn all manner of skills on.

Another fun item is an Arduino micro controller.

A lot of cool possibilities unfold when you put Python, Pi and Arduino together as well..

For light-hearted learning of a self-directed nature, the updated Mensa For Kids website may help occupy a few summer days.

There are many branches of science...
- In recent years there has been a proliferation of online virtual dissection labs; Animal Learn is one source which provides a list.
- Rader's Chem4Kids and related sites (Biology4Kids, Cosmos4Kids, Geography4Kids, Physics4Kids, and NumberNut) provide an interesting overview. (Note to parents - These sites contain ads.)
- NASA for students has a variety of information.
- If she might have an interest in birds seen in your area, there is the Cornell Ornithology website (All About Birds) and the Audubon Field Guide.
- Theodore Gray relates the periodic table of elements with a vast collection of samples.
- National Geographic, Popular Science, National Wildlife Federation, and Smithsonian Institution connect science with current events, which helps children build their stores of general information for understanding the world around them, engaging in social conversation, and eventually seeing the careers and variety of job opportunities behind the scenes in each of the stories.

Beyond virtual adventures online, I often think of summer as a time to develop hobbies or pastimes... drawing, painting, model-making, carpentry skills (a small project such as a birdhouse is great for beginners), progression of camping or outdoor skills, pottery making, sewing, knitting, cooking, baking, and other life skills. Several projects can be combined into a themed unit... for example, planning, research, and materials selection in preparation for making a basket, bowl, or tray (from traditional basket-weaving, clay, wood construction, or a kit)... sewing a finished edge and/or cross-stitching a design on a selected piece of fabric to line the serveware, and baking a savory or sweet treat to photograph the presentation of... and enjoy. An ingredient or garnish may even be an herb, fruit, or vegetable grown in a home garden. For an additional layer of challenge, the overall effort may have a unifying element such as a color theme, design motif, or cultural homage. For the mathematically inclined, hours of effort and/or material costs can be recorded and summed, possibly using an online spreadsheet such as Microsoft Excel.

Wishing you a great summer!

Wow! Thanks guys! I forgot all about the summer movies. We do that every year. I can't wait to dig into the other suggestions! I know it looks like we have lots of activities, but they are all about 4:30 in the afternoon or later so we need some fun day time activities. We will be doing fishing, hiking as well, and learning to sew!