Summer is a great time for teachers and students alike to take a much-needed break. Being a homeschooling mom, I have looked forward to summer for that very reason! However, I do find that some structure and fun learning can be easy, helpful, and intriguing even in the summer. Here are some ideas for you:
1. Pick a topic or theme for your kids or better yet, have THEM choose something they are interested in (this is called a “unit study” in formal, teaching terms!)
2. Go to the library and check out some interesting books on your topic of choice
3. Begin learning together and make some easy, fun activities/games as you go (It’s not meant to feel like school because it’s summer!)
This summer, we are doing PIRATES and SHIPWRECKS. We started with pirates first and got out a ton of cool books. My kids started by dressing up as pirates on a daily basis, with cheap pirate costumes we have had for years! They built a ship downstairs out of boxes and storage containers the first day to get into character as well. Then, for a good few weeks we just read and practiced drawing maps of a few rooms in our house and even some parks/playgrounds we visit. Through this my older kids labeled the objects in the room (writing practice), and everyone did a compass rose for direction too (North, South, West, East). We did various treasure hunts based off of those maps, with an “X” marks the spot (although we learned the “X” was probably not something pirates actually did, but we remember them that way)! The treasure chest was always filled with coins or something tasty inside for extra motivation!
Two must-reads about pirates are by David Shannon: How I Became a Pirate and Pirates Don’t Change Diapers! These books incorporate the pirate language and adventure into the life of a young boy in modern-day. We have both as hard copies in our home, to read time and time again!
Two must-reads about pirates are by David Shannon: How I Became a Pirate and Pirates Don’t Change Diapers! These books incorporate the pirate language and adventure into the life of a young boy in modern-day. We have both as hard copies in our home, to read time and time again!
I will say, pirates lacked compassion (my previous post), and led pretty cruel and depressing lives in my humble opinion. Glad I never came into contact with one, to say the least! Comparing and contrasting their lives with the life of Christ is a great way to recognize a life full of love or devoid of it. To give you a taste of what we learned about, I’ll share a few facts.
One of the historical books we used is entitled, Real Pirates by Clare Hibbert. From this and other books, we grasped various pirate terminology, including privateers (“legal pirates” with papers that worked for the government attacking ships, although many also participated in illegal ventures), buccaneers (pirates of the Caribbean), and corsairs (pirates of the Mediterranean). One particular pirate named “Black Bart” had more “morals” than most pirates, even held church services every Sunday on his ship, and had rules about whiskey drinking and respecting women. Although his career as a pirate only lasted four years, he was extremely successful and respected. We learned that each pirate had his own flag, the “jolly roger,” always raised before an attack, inciting fear and intimidation in the hearts of those nearby. I had my oldest son choose a pirate and do a “web” with the name of the pirate he enjoyed learning about in the middle and all the interesting things about that pirate around it (not full sentences, just short phrases). My three-year-old decorated the upper and lowercase P letters with purple stickers (P is for PIRATES and PURPLE)!
Another very entertaining way to start your pirate day is by finding your “pirate name!” There are many websites/pages with something similar, but we used https://www.itsakrazylife.com/pirate-party/. My kids quickly wanted to figure out pirate names for every possible person they could think of! The funniest ended up being my mom’s: Old Creeper Tuna Breath! We were all rolling over with laughter after this activity!
One of the historical books we used is entitled, Real Pirates by Clare Hibbert. From this and other books, we grasped various pirate terminology, including privateers (“legal pirates” with papers that worked for the government attacking ships, although many also participated in illegal ventures), buccaneers (pirates of the Caribbean), and corsairs (pirates of the Mediterranean). One particular pirate named “Black Bart” had more “morals” than most pirates, even held church services every Sunday on his ship, and had rules about whiskey drinking and respecting women. Although his career as a pirate only lasted four years, he was extremely successful and respected. We learned that each pirate had his own flag, the “jolly roger,” always raised before an attack, inciting fear and intimidation in the hearts of those nearby. I had my oldest son choose a pirate and do a “web” with the name of the pirate he enjoyed learning about in the middle and all the interesting things about that pirate around it (not full sentences, just short phrases). My three-year-old decorated the upper and lowercase P letters with purple stickers (P is for PIRATES and PURPLE)!
Another very entertaining way to start your pirate day is by finding your “pirate name!” There are many websites/pages with something similar, but we used https://www.itsakrazylife.com/pirate-party/. My kids quickly wanted to figure out pirate names for every possible person they could think of! The funniest ended up being my mom’s: Old Creeper Tuna Breath! We were all rolling over with laughter after this activity!
The Pirate Festival in Olcott, New York is held every year the weekend after July 4th. We were able to go this year for the first time. I know they do fireworks at night as well, which we did not attend, but during the day we were pleasantly surprised by the historical and family-friendly ambiance we found! Everyone was in period dress, and was there to answer questions and walk you through the golden years of piracy from the late 1600s through the 1700s. There were tents set up and an amusing treasure hunt for kids. They had to search for ten treasure chests, stamp their map on the symbols corresponding, and then turn it in for some pirate “booty”(coins and seashells of their choice)! There were engaging pirate table games to play as well. We talked to several pirates asking them about their adventures, and even got to see on-the-spot pistol and cannon demonstrations. In addition, there was the typical fair set-up with overpriced rides and bounce houses, which we did not participate in, but was also available. Overall a high recommendation for free summer learning and play (and don’t forget Olcott offers those adorable 25 cent outdoor rides for kids 52 inches and under)!
Next, we moved into learning about pirate ships and briefly reviewed the concept of buoyancy. We built boats to see which float (have buoyancy) utilizing different materials (your recycling bin can be a great place to start), and how many coins you can fit in a clay boat before it sinks (you’ll learn strategic, smart boat design). We found some thrilling books about shipwrecks at the library, with tales you can’t imagine! One of the best was Mysteries of the Past Shipwrecks by Jason Hook. Unfortunately, many shipwrecks didn’t end up well, although there were a few cases of survivors. The theme “Shipwrecks” is actually what our church and many others in our area are doing for VBS (Vacation Bible School) this year, with the theme “God RESCUES”. It is a good tie-in to our fun unit study this summer, a simple way to reinforce it all and bring it back to Our Magnificent God.
In closing, do some learning, keeping it SIMPLE and EASY so YOU can relax and enjoy too! If you have done or plan on doing something with your kids for some fun summer learning, post a comment and share your ideas with us. God bless each of you as you enjoy this blissful hot weather with your families!
Thank you for these fabulous ideas, Nicole! I loved your idea of using "Jingle Bells" to make the concepts and vocabulary memorable for your children! I am inspired, and will definitely use your ideas as well my dear. 🙂
This summer we have talked about wild vs domesticated animals.
As we walk and explore, we point out the different animals, and I hear Oliver identifying animals as wild or domesticated.
Going along with wild animals, we focused on vocabulary words like predator, prey, and camouflage. We loved playing this simple game, where you need some little plastic animals (you can find them at the dollar store), and at least 2 people. One person (or team) is hiding the prey, and they hide the animals, in plain sight, camouflaging them by placing them next to or on items with similar coloring. The predator (or a team of predators) hang out in another area, and once all of the prey are set in place, the predators move into the room to try to find them. Keep a count of your animals to make sure you find them all.
We also sang a song about camouflage (to the tune of jingle bells):
Camouflage, camouflage
colors, spots, or stripes
helps protect the animals
all different types
camouflage camouflage
helps them night or day
hide away from predators
so they won’t be pray, hey!
camouflage camouflage
better watch your back predators will use it too
then they will attack!
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Marcia, you are welcome! You are a fabulous teacher and the creativity in you is always abounding. I look forward to having you and Rodney help the kids in their fun learning activities when you are here!! 🙂
Oh dear! I had so much fun reading this blog.. so much imagination and resources in one page. I know how much fun they have being involved in all these activities and the learning is priceless.
Thank you so much information for everything.