It’s officially summer! My kids are completely elated, and to be honest, so am I. But as an educator, I’m always asked, “What are your kids doing during the summer?” Well, the short answer is they are still learning. While their traditional school may be out, summer learning in my household is in full effect. My kids are 10, twin 12-year-olds, and a 15-year-old (OMG, he’ll start driving this summer!).
Here’s what this curriculum looks like:
• Learn how to read the MATA bus schedule and ride the bus across town. I know that Uber is a thing, but I still believe in public transportation. I feel that people should know how to travel in their city in all formats.
• Put together a shelf. Following directions is a learned skill. And following printed instructions is even more difficult. So each of my kids will be required to purchase a shelf (using their allowance) and put it together by themselves.
• Read an autobiography. You don’t have to experience life’s hard lessons in order to learn from them. One can gain a lot of insight about life from reading about someone else’s experience.
• Paint a wall. Okay, I’m sure there’s some educational aspect to painting a wall, but honestly I just want a few accent walls in the house and the kids have nothing but time.
• Learn the lyrics to important Disney songs. So far, they have failed their “A Whole New World” from Aladdin. Up next is “Colors of the Wind” from Pocahontas. My kids have near zero music knowledge, unless it comes from video games. And I refuse to have them embarrassing the family name because they don’t know a single song from The Lion King. So, may the odds be ever in their favor.
• Learn how to bake the perfect cookie. This task shouldn’t be too hard since I’ve given them the recipe to the perfect cookie dough base. Especially since the end product is so delicious, they should be extra motivated to get it right. The secret is in the temperature.
• Learn how to make strawberry jam. In order to do this, they need to first pick some fresh strawberries from Jones Orchard. Then follow a simple recipe and voilà! I can’t wait to see if the kids get the consistency right and are able to explain why. Science!
• Grocery shop and prepare meals. During the school year, I did the grocery shopping. As a family, we each took turns to prepare dinners. My husband, my oldest son, and I each had our own day. The twins and the youngest daughter shared a day. But now, they must learn and strengthen their tech muscles and stretch their cooking skills. Each kid is responsible for going on kroger.com and putting their needed items for breakfast, lunch, and dinner into the shopping cart for review. They must also notify me of the lunch and the dinner they will be preparing the following week.
• Learn how to operate Google Calendar. With four kids, each wants to hang out with their friends and go to different events. It can become overwhelming trying to remember everything for everyone. So if they want to engage in anything outside of the four walls of our house, they must send us a Google Calendar invite.
• Learn how to navigate public spaces. I think this may be the only part of summer learning they are looking forward to. One day a week, they get to decide where they would like to hang out. In navigating public spaces, they need to practice respect of the place and the people, noise level control, and basic street-smarts. They’re already excited about practicing this at the MoSH, Crosstown Concourse, Memphis Chess Club, and the library.
• Learn how to play spades. (This is a prerequisite to gaining their Black Card.)
• Learn about music greats such as Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Ray Charles, Prince, Miles Davis, and Sam Cooke to name a few. They will be given a playlist that they are more than welcomed to listen to as they clean their rooms.
Through this summer learning curriculum, the kids utilize their reading, math, science, and social studies skills. They are learning things that they wouldn’t necessarily get in an ordinary classroom. I have always believed that I am my child’s first teacher, and there’s no way that our school systems can teach our children everything. One thing that I have learned in my years as an educator is that children will learn! They are going to learn something, from someone or from somewhere. It’s up to us as parents to ensure their learning is rounded and balanced.
Patricia Lockhart is a native Memphian who loves to read, write, cook, and eat. Her days are filled with laughter with her four kids and charming husband. By day, she’s a school librarian and writer, but by night … she’s asleep. @realworkwife @memphisismyboyfriend