Summer Suggestions

The high school my son attends sent out this email at the end of the school year.  

Summer Enrichment Information

Research says that summer activities have a direct impact on student's performance during the next school year. We recommend the 1,2,3 approach.

1 Trip
2 Books
3 Cultural Activities

Our teachers have come up with a few suggestions that might help you out:

Books To Read

Mind Gym by Gary Mack
Survival of the Sickest: Sharon Moalem
The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings
The Fault in Our Stars & Looking for Alaska by John Green
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Theatre and Its Double by Antoine Artaud
Shakespeare, the Invention of the Human by Harold Bloom
The Empty Space by Peter Brook
The Other Way by Charles Marowitz
The Craftsmen of Dionysus by Jerome Rockwood

Cultural Activities

Monterey Aquarium
New Exploratorium
San Jose Tech Museum
Oakland & SF Zoo
Mexican Museum at Fort Mason, S.F.
de young Museum, S.F. - Art of the Americas Exhibit
Oakland Museum - Gallery of California History. See the American Indian Collections
City College of San Francisco - Diego Rivera Pan American Unity Mural
Read in Spanish or English - Cajas De Carton/ The Circuit : Stories From the Life of a Migrant Child by Francisco Jimenez
Ballet Flamenco, Danville Village Theatre
Macbeth - Shakespeare in the Park
Romeo & Juliet - Cal Shakes
Lindsey Wildlife Museum
Tidepooling
National/state parks

While I feel all of these are great suggestions, I'm going to repost a few paragraphs I recently wrote about summertime activities here:

If you have the luxury of spending time with your kids this summer, do so. Ditch the expensive summer camps and instead do healthy, inexpensive activities with your kids or encourage them to play with others in the unstructured, unscheduled hours of the summer days ahead. Some of my boys' (now ages 17 and 19) favorite summertime activities were riding bikes into town, going to the parks, street roller hockey, playing catch, kicking a soccer ball, going to the pool, building forts out of cushions, drawing, painting, setting up a tent in the back yard, playing legos, watching movies, having sleepovers, cooking, baking, walking the dog, catching crawdads in the local creek, taking the dog to a lake to swim, shooting hoops, building skateboard ramps, going to the beach, setting up a lemonade stand, etc...

Enjoy thinking about your summer and don't stress about it. Don't feel guilty if your kids aren't enrolled in a bunch of organized summertime camps or activities or if you aren't planning a super-cool family vacation. You have this summer only once in their lifetimes...enjoy the quiet, unhurried, fun, creative moments you witness or experience with them.  Stay-cations can be just as memorable and rewarding as vacations.

And, I'd like to add to that - try any new activity.  If your child or teen has never tried yoga, for instance, check out local yoga classes.  If you live in my area, go to my kid's yoga blog to see the hours I teach kid's and teen's yoga.  KT Yoga.  

And sleep!  These kids are growing and need their sleep.  They (like many of us) don't get enough sleep and are too over scheduled.  Let them sleep in and nap this summer if your time permits.  

Adding Mindfulness to Schools

This is an interesting article:

Mindfulness Programs In Schools Reduce Symptoms Of Depression Among Adolescents

Click here to read it.

And, scroll down below the article to check out a great slideshow:

8 Awesome Ways High Schools Are Helping Students De-Stress

1. Yoga
2. Pets in the classroom
3. Meditation
4. Power napping during school hours
5. Mindfulness training
6. Wellness rooms for the entire school community
7. More recess time and more homework free nights
8. Self-esteem conferences

Any comments?

Obama on Parenting and School

President Obama gave parents some advice in Essence Magazine. See this link: http://www.examiner.com/x-35307-LA-Parenting--Education-Examiner~y2010m2d17-Obama-on-parent-involvement and don’t forget to read the comments below the article.

Obama says that parents should not allow their kids to watch TV during school nights.

I say that everyone needs downtime and sometimes TV is fine. Especially if the Olympics are on! TV in moderation is perfectly okay, even on school nights. As a parent, it’s easy to lay down the law and say “No TV on school nights” but it’s a lot harder to monitor your children’s TV time – that’s where the discriminating parenting comes in. There are some really good shows that are worth watching with your children. Yes, there are bad shows, too, of course, but you don’t have to watch those or allow your children to watch them. Or, you can watch them and then have discussions with your children about why they were bad shows. Turn it into a lesson.

Obama said that he and Michelle make their daughters start homework as soon as they get home from school. If they don’t finish by dinnertime the girls can continue afterwards. I worry about a culture that promotes working 12+ hours a day. Where’s the balance?

I say that a better idea is to let the girls have some free time right after school, especially while it’s still light outside. They’ve been in school for 7 hours, when they come home let them relax, or play outside, or hang out with friends, or walk the dog, or read for fun, or play a game, or help around the house, or play some music, or draw, or go to an after school extracurricular activity, or take a walk, or work in the garden, or…. There are so many healthy alternatives to doing homework the instant children get home from school.

And, look at the homework being assigned. If it’s busywork, or turning your child off to learning, then re-evaluate it and look at the impact it is having on your family and discuss this with the teacher. Or, if it’s simply taking your child too long to complete it - the National PTA and NEA recommends 10 minutes per grade level – then discuss that with the teacher. This would mean no more than 40 minutes/day for a 4^th grader (Sasha’s grade?) or 60 minutes/day for a 6^th grader (Malia’s grade?).

The things I liked about Obama’s parenting tips: he advocates an early bedtime for his girls (9:00 pm). Sleep is healthy! He also promotes staying in touch with teachers. I agree with this as long as parents don’t go overboard, and as long it is respectful on both ends. He says students must give their best effort in class. I agree. He promotes reading. I agree. He suggests having regular talks with your child about school and personal issues. I agree, as long as the discussions about school are not overly focused on grades, tests and homework. Lastly, he says to celebrate the little successes along the way. I completely agree.

What do you think?