What should I do with my children during the summer?

A common question I get from parents in the summer is:

"What should I enroll my child in during the summer months?"

I find this to be a hard question to answer if I do not know the child, but I definitely think that your child should be involved in something during the summer.

It is summer time, so my students at PALCS have the summer off and I'll get a new batch of 6th graders come September. But many teachers work over the summer and currently I teach at a theater day camp through Young People's Theatre Workshop (YPTW.org) in Swarthmore, PA.

Day Camp is designed to be process oriented; the purpose is to expose the children to various aspects of musical theater and corresponding composers, actors, directors, and so on.

Summer is a great time to allow your children to take part in a program, like YPTW, that allows them to have a structured yet creative outlet to encourage them to flourish. Whether or not my campers know it, they are learning each day. Believe it or not, we sneak in lots of traditional aspects of education as well as theatrical education. Just today, we studied a musical that revolves around a spelling bee, and then we conducted our own spelling bee. (Just try to teach your students spelling at home during the summer!)

I encourage parents to enroll their children in summertime programs because children need constant structure in their lives to keep them active, focused, and a contributing member of society. If your child needs more support in reading or math, for instance, it might be a good idea to look into programs that involve an interest of your child (like art, music, chess, etc) with reading and/or math, if a program exists like that in your area.

Also, be sure to ask lots of questions about a program that interests you. As an educator, I find every opportunity to involve cross-curricular experiences for my students, whether I am teaching math or dance.

Bottom line: get your child active this summer; it isn't too late. The transition back to school in September will be difficult if your child has let the summer just pass him/her by.

Liz Seymour is a certified PA teacher teaching 6th grade math and science at the PA Leadership Charter School (PALCS.org) in West Chester, PA. She also teaches at Young People's Theatre Workshop that meets at The Players Club of Swarthmore Theater in the Fall and Spring and then produces two musicals: one for the younger students in December and one for the older ones on the Main Stage each May-June. You can learn more about Liz at her own site, LizSeymour.com, where she's preparing her own music CD. AND you can learn more about her on this site Here!