Summer has been tough at Casa de Dummies.
I mean I started out with this really great vision.
I shoulda made a board, then maybe things woulda turned out more like how I’d imagined them: a little sleeping in, waking up to a healthy breakfast, a little learning, followed by a trip to someplace that allows human submersion in water; a late lunch of something healthy and delicious, naps all around, and then some friendly together time so mommy could focus on important stuff like Tweeting with her online besties while we waited for Dad to come home from work.
Yeah, a vision board of that woulda been pretty.
But, I didn’t do a board and things aren’t working out the way I’d hoped.
Our summer is going more like this: waking up at the crack of dawn to tyrannical demands for a Pop-Tart, actively resisting the learning and attempting to distract me with tears, followed by a trip to someplace that allows human submersion in water; a late lunch of Mc Donald’s or meat, cheese, and crackers, a nap for #3 that is usually interrupted by Dudes fighting and me yelling for them to cut it out.
I don’t get to spend much time with my online besties.
But that’s all changing now because I just instituted Dumb Mom’s Summer Learning Plan for People Who Need to Learn Stuff Bad.
And, I’ve written a guide to help you do the same!
Dumb Mom’s Guide to Summer Learning For Moms Who Are Fed Up With Their Bickering Kids Need It
1. Have a think. A serious, heartfelt think that you DON’T doze off in the middle of, about why summer learning isn’t happening. Then, come up with a plan to change that, pronto! I’m an ex teacher so I know the importance of summer skill building. But, as a mom, I also know how hard it is to stick to achieving that goal. For us, it’s about setting aside designated “learning time”. An hour or two each day that we schedule other activities around (when possible). It makes “pool time” and “fun time” and “TV time” that much sweeter.
2. Gather your resources. Go to the library and check out the summer reading list. Get yourself some good workbooks that the kids can do alone when they just really need a refocus. Find some super cool websites that make learning fun. Because really, kids love technology, so why not incorporate it into your daily summer learning plan?! Here are some of our favorite summer learning online resources:
- For ideas: The We Teach Group for daily inspiration. Download the FREE summer eBook for even more great ideas!
- For online fun & learning: We use Math Whizz thanks to a grant from our school, but anyone can subscribe to the site. It’s an engaging and effective summer enrichment for my son who struggles with math during the school year. Looking for something free? Try one of these Dude approved sites: Cool Math 4 Kids, FunBrain, or Brain Pop.
- For portable devices: Words With Friends (I know, but my 9 year old loves challenging and playing against my husband and me!), I SPY Spooky Mansion (the whole family can play this one together), or Mad Libs (parts of speech were never more fun, right?!)
3. Up the awesome. Learning doesn’t always have to be your kid, a #2 pencil, and a boring workbook he’d rather throw up on than use. It could be a trip to a local battlefield (we live in Civil War alley so it’s easy for us). Or a day at a library program (most libraries have tons during the summer and they are usually free). Even an outdoor adventure with a birding book could be a great way to learn while having some summer fun (not for this Dumb Mom; the great outdoors isn’t all that great in my opinion).
Have some super cool summer learning tips to keep your little people on track? We’d love to hear about them!
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Amanda Rodriguez of parenting BY dummies
Dumb Mom has been wowing the Internet since 2008 when she launched her pretty-much-useless guide for parents, parenting BY dummies. As it turns out her parenting advice is not generally useful for more than a good laugh, but sometimes that’s exactly what you need! Dumb Mom spends her online time (which is embarrassingly limited) running a photography business, working as a social media director for a local print publication, writing freelance articles about stuff she loves, wrangling Dudes, petting her Baby Dog Daughter, and eating cupcakes in her garage to escape the crazy. You can Tweet with her online as @thenagainphoto, but don’t expect her to be serious. It’s virtually impossible.
This is great! Love your ideas for summer learning – they can definitely be more exciting than forcing a kid (who doesn’t like it) to read for two hours!