Days are long, flowers are blooming, and the scent of sunscreen lingers in the air. This can only mean one thing: summer is here!

At St. Barnabas, we look forward to summer as a season when we take a break from formal classroom education. But that doesn’t mean we should stop sharpening our minds and expanding our knowledge. In fact, we encourage parents to continue taking an active role in their children’s education over the summer. Keeping kids’ minds engaged helps prevent the “summer slide,” enabling them to begin the next school year with confidence.

Here are a few ways we recommend encouraging your child to continue thinking, growing, and learning during summer break.

Take Educational Field Trips

Summer is the perfect time to visit museums, historical sites, and other attractions you may not have the time to visit during the busy school year. Consider scheduling a family field trip once a week or even every other week in the summer.

The DeLand area has a lot to offer in this regard, including:

• The Gillespie Museum: On the grounds of Stetson University, the Gillespie Museum boasts an impressive collection of rocks and minerals, making it a great place for kids to learn about earth science and geology.
• DeLand House Museum: Operated by the West Volusia Historical Society, the DeLand House Museum houses photographs, artifacts, and displays that illustrate local history. Visiting sites like this can make history feel more “real” when students return to the classroom.
• Museum of Art – DeLand:A visit to the Museum of Art – DeLand will open and inspire your mind. This summer, one of the featured exhibits is Bobbi Baugh’s “Symbols & Storytelling,” a collection of quilts, prints, and paintings that tell complex stories.

After each field trip, spend an hour or two having a family discussion. Each person can share something new that they learned or noticed. Ask open-ended questions and encourage your children to relate what they learned to their daily lives and interests.

Create a Family Book Club

Children who learn to love reading for pleasure will forever have a healthy hobby that encourages both deep thought and relaxation. Reading also helps expand their vocabulary, introduces them to new cultures and ideas, and fosters mindfulness in general.

A great way to encourage summer reading is by creating a family book club. Browse your local library’s collection and choose a few books that fit your family’s interests and your children’s reading levels. (You may want to read out loud to younger ones!) Aim to read one to two books per month. Assign a few chapters each week. Then, have a weekly family discussion about those chapters.

Some weeks, you may want to focus the discussion on the plot. Other weeks, look for opportunities to connect what you’ve read to real-life concepts. Prepare to be amazed by the insights your children share.

Play Board Games

Playing board games is more than a fun way to pass the time. Many board games encourage strategic and critical thinking. Some, like Scrabble and Bananagrams, also help refresh vocabulary and assist with academic retention.

You could plan a board game night once a week, or just keep a stack of games handy on the coffee table for a quick match whenever the mood strikes. If your game collection is lacking, consider purchasing a new one each week in the summer. Kids will be especially excited to play a new game. You can often find classics like Boggle, Monopoly, and Trivial Pursuit at thrift stores and garage sales.

Enroll in Summer Camp

Summer camps offer kids an opportunity to enjoy summer learning activities while also making new friends and appreciating the great outdoors. In the less-structured environment of a summer camp, students are often able to think more expansively and openly than they do in the classroom, while also utilizing knowledge from math, science, and even English classes.

Check for openings at St. Barnabas’ summer camp. Our educational summer programs offer a welcoming, inclusive environment that encourages teamwork, discipline, and leadership.

Cook and Bake Together

Cooking and baking with your children is one of the best ways to support academic skills and keep their minds active. Even when baking something simple, like brownies, your child will have to do a little math, read and follow instructions, and keep an eye on the timer.

To make the experience even more educational, you can:

• Have them double the amount of each ingredient to make a bigger batch. Fractions!
• Add details to the recipe to make it more specific.
• Read the recipe out loud as a child follows the steps.

Summer is an opportunity to slow down and take a break, but it’s also important to keep minds active. Let us know if you end up using any of the student engagement ideas suggested here. We’d love to hear what you think. And, as always, don’t hesitate to contact us to schedule a tour or learn more about the welcoming community at St. Barnabas Episcopal School.