by Toni McKinley
Summer is here! What do we do? The kids are out of school. They are so excited 
to play, swim, and sleep in. But, we all know that after about a week or two the boredom sets in and the kids want to be entertained. On top of all that; as a mother we worry what information they are going to and not going to retain until school starts. That is why I started what we call, “Fun School.” Fun School is the idea to work on a skill that your child did NOT do well in. Maybe they fell a little behind in class for a certain subject. Maybe they did fine but just can’t seem to find the joy in a particular subject. Fun School will be your cure for the summer blues and prepare them for the coming school year.
So how does it work? The number one important thing to do when creating your fun school is to make sure there are elements of fun when you create it. Usually, if a child struggles in something they say they don’t like it. School can be monotonousness sometimes. It just takes a little creativity to get their interest going.
There are a few factors to consider when you prepare. Those factors would be your child’s age, the subject they struggle in, and their interests. For example, when my daughter was eight she did not like reading. The reason why she did not like it was because she struggled in it. So I thought, “What are some things my daughter loves that could motivate her to read.” Well, one is she loves to play with her friends, particularly girl friends at this age. Second, she loves history. She may not like to read about it but she always has questions about the past. Third, she loves crafts. Most girls do but not all of them. Her fun school was a book club. Her and her friends, with the mom’s agreement and participation, all decided to read the American Girl series. Each week the girls would meet. They would first discuss the book then complete a planned craft that the moms took time organizing. She loved it! The books have a historical context, she was able to meet her friends once a week, and do a craft that pertained to what she was reading. After the summer was over she begged me to do it again. She missed it so much that she began to read each book again! She is now sixteen years old. She has a huge love for reading and writing. I expected my sixteen year old daughter to bleed my bank account at the mall but instead I need to be more weary about taking her to a book store! I love having that problem.
So go ahead! Don’t hesitate! Don’t procrastinate! Those summer blues will come! Start thinking now about how you can help your child retain, improve, and maybe be ahead of the game in the up and coming school year. It is fun and easy and you will be rewarded!
