A Teacher’s Wishlist for Her Students This Summer Break

Ahh, summer! That glorious season where life’s crazy fast pace slows down a bit. Teachers get some time off (of course, we’re still here all summer at CLC!) and kids get to be kids (for the most part).

We all know that classic funny moment when a student happens to encounter his or her teacher at a non-school location, such as the grocery store, beach, or movie theater. It never fails to amaze the student that yes indeed, teachers are not always at school…although sometimes it does feel that way! We are never far away from thinking about our curriculum; how to tweak this, present that, review this, assess that…

Everyone can agree that although the summer break is never long enough, it can make learned concepts hard to remember after a two-month hiatus. That’s why teachers not-so-secretly wish students will keep their pursuit of knowledge going strong all summer. With that in mind, here is a teacher’s wishlist for things kids could and should be doing over break:

Set a purpose for reading during the summer. Read a new genre, a different magazine, the local newspaper, and of course your summer reading book.
Follow a sports team. It could be the Red Sox, but it could also be your own team, or any other team you have access to. Play with the statistics and make a prediction of the score before each game. Then compare your predictions to the actual scores to see how much of an expert you are.
Write a letter. Any friend or relative would surely love to receive a handwritten letter!
Offer to cook something at home. Find a recipe, read it, follow the instructions, and you will be very proud of the delicious dish you make…guaranteed. Then take a foodie photo!
Help with the grocery shopping. Create a shopping list and predict how much it will cost. How close did you get to your estimate? How many meals can you make? Estimate the cost of one meal in total, and per person.
Keep a journal and divide it into sections. Make one section just for new vocabulary words you learn. Try to keep using these words during the summer. How many did you learn? Pick a date and record your entire schedule for that day. Write in the car, before you go to sleep, when you wake up…writing is only hard when you don’t practice enough.
Have fun with your friends! Play Frisbee, tennis, catch with water balloons. Make up games with rules.
Watch the next thunderstorm. Record how many rumbles of thunder you hear and lightening bolts you see. Record the date of each storm and you will have an authentic weather history report to share with your class!
Be kind! Volunteer wherever you can. Help with a community clean up project, visit an animal shelter, or play with a younger sibling, neighbor or cousin.
Learn something new; a card game, board game, a craft, even a new language. Have fun, be creative, make it happen!