Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion What are you doing this summer?

More particularly, what are you doing that's enriching/educational/schooly/unschooly?

I'll start (DD is 7):

- Splash Math, 20 problems a day. Despite the dopey interface, we're liking it better than DreamBox right now.

- Foreign language, trying out a few apps that she seems to be enjoying, we'll see how that goes.

- I write out one or two sentences a day for her to copy, for handwriting practice. I try to make them funny.

- Lots and lots of reading! We read Wind in the Willows and a few E. Nesbit books, and now we're reading some of their literary descendants.

- Her first live full-length Shakespeare performance.

- Lots of free-range play with her friends, which involves a great deal of costumes, home-made hunter-gatherer tools, and mud.

DS7 is:

- Staying up ridiculoisly late reading whatever (and ruining his teeth eating various snacks while he tries to fall asleep),

- Sleeping in to all hours,

- Playing Magic the Gathering with anybody who knows how,

- Riding his bike,

- Playing with his dog,

- Did I mention - sleeping in every morning, really, realllllllly late,

- Swimming once in a while,

- Playing HORSE or occasionally CAT or ANGLER FISH (ah - there's my little giftie poking his head up) in the backyard, because I'm useless for one-on-one. I can score an occasional trick shot that's interesting.

- Catching me every chance he gets when I'm wasting water because we're in CA and there's a drought, you know

- generally wasting time, and by the way he says he can't wait until school starts because his favorite teacher for the after-care "Kids Club" will be back in town and he can't wait to see him.

Zero enrichment. School said he "should read at least 10 minutes a day" which is a laugh riot because he reads for hours a day.

Probably we should be making him write a little each day, because it's a struggle. But, honestly, whatever.

With regards from the slacker parents,
Sue

On normal days excluding Sunday 3 hours of my kids competitive sport in the morning with an additional 2 hours for one of them at night two evenings a week. And I do believe it is part of the package because the regular exercise does help them in all aspects of life.

One is reading a novel about every two or three days so that involves regular trips to the library website and library. He now can request inter library loans independently. The other has slowed his reading down a lot.

We have seen two plays...which isn't unusual because of my dh's profession. Wish we had gone to more.

We have had one week family vacation. We have had several beach weekends (which are in a townhouse that results in normal life just with a view of the ocean). The beach weekends are within a mile of grandparents and cousins so that is always fun.

The one thing that I pushed for was my boys and I all are using the app duolingo to work on Spanish skills over the summer. That has worked.

One spent a lot of time designing all the pieces to his Halloween costume and seeing what he already has to use. One had a camp at his new school for a week and has another week of camp coming up (both free and fun).

My kids have been in camps so far almost every week. Because unless there is structure - well, it's not good. :-(

(Honestly, 2 months off of school is too long!)

Their favorites so far were the theater camps - DD10 did an awesome job learning a lead role at her 2-week musical theatre camp, and DS7 learned to speak a little louder (when performing) at his.

Also swimming, playing with friends, and playing too much Pokemon.

DS16 and soon to be a junior in high school. He has had a great summer so far and only has a few weeks left. We took a short vacation during which we visited one university. Very useful even though we decided it isn't good fit he is now inspired to look at more schools. DS spend 4 weeks at wilderness camp and LOVED it, he just got back and really wishes he wasn't home. During a break in camp his grandparents took him to a Shakespeare festival that he loved, said the plays were the best he's even seen.

Now he is home for a week without any specific plans but he is already working hard on his AP Bio summer homework (without any prompting) and practicing for band camp. The he has two weeks of Marching Band Camp and then fall semester starts.

Posting this here so that it will come up in a summer related search...

DD10 just returned from a 19 night CTY camp at Lafayette College in Easton. She had a blast. 24x7x19 contact with fellow intellectually curious kids was a rare treat for her as we live in an area with a low human population density.

Kids were very well supervised while given an appropriate illusion of freedom and kept very engaged with both the learning and the social aspects of the camp. DD had never been away from home for more than one night without either my wife or I around so we were a bit concerned about how well our sometimes very intense daughter would fare. Our concerns were completely unnecessary!

We had a chat with her tutor and assistant, apparently our daughter excelled on group exercises - something her NT school has consistently dinged her on. I will enjoy beating them over the head with this alternate view if we continue to hear it from them LOL

She is come down to Earth now laying on her bed at home with the family dog curled up with her but she is positively glowing!

madeinuk - so glad your DD had a great time!!!

Hmmm...we've had similar comments about group exercises at times at "regular" school, as well (I'll just say it - my DD can be bossy, opinionated). Glad your DD showed that she can shine in this area, as well!

Yes, our DDs are very similar aren't they? So I would expect your DD to do better with an ability grouped class too. Here is what DD said about her group exercise experiences in both environments last night:-

Her: At the camp I didn't have to explain, others were just 'there' whereas at school I have to explain every little step on things that are just obvious to me.

Me: So it is like programming a computer - you need to supply every step?

Her: No! A computer tells you when you are wrong or it doesn't get what you are telling it right away. Whereas in the class group exercise someone will sit there nodding their head looking interested as though they are following along but at the end will say 'why are we doing this again?' - I find it SO FRUSTRATING!!!!

Sharing this here to see if others elicit a similar response when asking their kids.

2e DD10 is a musical theater kid - no one can really understand how she is able to do it given all her challenges but we have been told it's important to keep her in it so that has been our summer. 3 full scale musical productions - one in June, one in July and one in August. (Just last week she was cast for a fall production too. Rehearsals for that start 2 days after this last show wraps up.)

Juggling rehearsals for 2 shows at a time most of the summer with theater companies 20-30 minutes from home, each in different directions. There was a week where one rehearsed 3 hours in the afternoons and the other 3 hours the same evening... I thought it was insane but DD loved it. The next week started a 3 week theater/arts camp (with its own smaller scale show - sure why shouldn't the profoundly LD kid be able to remember an additional 5-6 songs and dances while in the midst of rehearsals for 2 full scale shows at the same time? Why should that be a problem? Apparently it wasn't...) So she has had a bunch of 13 hour days filled with camp 9-4 and rehearsal or performances in the evenings, eating dinner in the car as we drive between them. She is in heaven. Absolute heaven!

We also combined a vacation with a Harry Potter theater camp - rented a house on the beach. DD spent her days learning spells and making boggarts and then spent her evenings digging clams and exploring the beach. Again... In heaven.

Also managing to work in VT just about every day and having spectacular results as discussed on the VT page. I have been trying to work in as much relaxing and normal kid time as possible so some evening swim/play dates on the rare evenings without a rehearsal or performance. Recently spent the weekend at a revolutionary war reenactment so DD has decided she wants to join a reenactment group and plans to use it for her enrichment project this fall.

Last summer she really enjoyed sleeping late but this summer she is saying "I want to accomplish something." I'll have to remind her of that in a few weeks when that morning alarm starts going off. But for now just really enjoying watching her enjoying it all.

Hahahahaha! My DD is too young to experience this herself, but please tell your DD that I know EXACTLY how she feels!