In May we worked very hard at finishing up our reading "book lists". We also had to turn in grades! (love paper work, grr) I'm also trying hard to get my oldest through 2 more credits in order to graduate in the summer and be in a class at our local college in the fall! (That's been a ride!)
But, as some of you may know, we don't quit school work altogether for summer. We do have lighter loads some days and we do take more days off for fun but, I usually use summer for more "group" learning/teaching.
Some (fun and frugal) things that we've done already:
- we've held "debates"This has been a fun way to learn what the kids really think about different topics such as; gun laws, state vs. federal laws, stricter FDA regulations, pros vs. cons on modesty, and many other fun ideas! We did this on a simple level so every one, including the younger children, could participate. We used a huge dry erase board and wrote out pros and cons and listed them accordingly. Ever wonder if your comments about daily news events affects your children? This is a great way to find out!
-flash light nights
The kids have been allowed to stay up later than normal with their flashlights and a book. Some are reading library books, some The Hardy Boys, one The Boxcar Children, and another Nancy Drew. Sounds fun to me!
-trying to learn Spanish
As a group, we're using free internet sources as well as library materials to try to learn some basics in Spanish. Some aren't really fond of this- but when I offer for them to do their home work instead of joining us, they suddenly decide its not so bad! ;-)
-learning parts of speech
I loved this in school, but sadly it doesn't seem that any of my kids are taking after me on this one! But we've used cute read-aloud style books from the library and oral Q&A and its made this more fun as we use our "adjectives" to describe our "brother". This also helps to keep our "regular school time" more happy! They would lots rather just read a real book than have a text book course in English for 'school time'- so this is a happy, kid-friendly alternative to get them to learn- not to mention teaching them as a group sure does save time! (and I don't have to grade 6 different papers! woo hoo!)
-finding educational shows on our free trial of Netflix
This is an area they are loving but I've had to be careful to watch over their choices. They love Man vs. Wild and tell me all kinds of things that you can eat! -gulp- They also love Myth Busters but I've had to monitor a few of those. There's also some PBS produced documentaries on there that have been really neat. The boys love to watch anything about war history.
-gardening
The other day, one of them complained a little while we were out working in the garden. I told him; "you may not get it all now, but I'm teaching you something that is VERY important for you in your future and something that you will have good memories of when you are older. You are learning that you CAN feed yourself, no matter what happens in your life. Now- the Bible tells us to do things without grumbling and complaining (actually I think the words used are 'murmurings and disputings'), so get back to work and no more complaining!"
Anyone have any other fun, educational, free/frugal ideas?
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