Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Summer Camps

If you are a homeschoolers, then your child probably doesn’t need the type of summer camp that is intended to baby sit children who are out of school for the summer. Many homeschool parents forget about summer camps all together because their families tend to do things with other homeschool families. Field trips and other educational outings are often accomplished as part of the local homeschool group.

So why might your sixth grader need a summer camp? Well, there are many reasons, but the two that I would like to mention here are: 1) for educational opportunities, and 2) for social opportunities.

In the case of educational opportunities, consider sending your child to a camp that specializes in something that your child has a deep interest in, or a talent for. One example here is horse camp. Last spring break we sent our daughter to a four day long camp that taught her how to groom, and tack up a horse, and the basics of riding.

The social opportunities option is to allow her to have experiences with other kids who might or might not be home schooled, but have an interest in common with her. Since our children do not need babysitting, we can look beyond just the need to stick our kids someplace, and look for opportunities that will enhance their education, interests, and social interactions.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

The Project

I am setting my daughter up to do a major project over the summer. I would like to teach her how to organize, research, and execute the project, but I want her to do the work as independently as possible.

In the past we have done what we call special studies, where we concentrated on a subject of her choice. While she chose the subject, from dinosaurs, to earthquakes and volcanoes, I provided the materials and the opportunities to look things up. I would have color pages, or model kits, or books for her to look at pictures in. In the case of volcanoes, I found a site that showed the locations of the worlds active volcanoes and showed them erupting. It was great fun, and she learned a lot.

What she didn’t learn was how to research a topic. She didn’t learn how to organize her materials in order to present the project to other people. She didn’t learn to write up her final information in a paper.

I believe she is ready to learn these skills based on her ability to read a text book and tell me about what she learned. Now I just need her to be able to formalize that information. If she can learn the skills needed for “The Project” she will be able to carry them forward to high school, college, and beyond.