Enjoy Summer With Your Children

Many parents have an urge. They want their children to complete school work during the summer. At Lifetime Montessori School in San Diego, we say ‘your kids will catch up.’

Building and Reinforcing Skill Sets

Kids will catch up via the Montessori Method in September if their soft skills are up to date—skills they can complete with parents—like:

• Creating engagement
• Asking questions
• Being part of discussions
• Participating in decision making processes

These skills illustrate how to create an enjoyable family summer with your children.

For example, prep a schedule or date and give your child a part in the thinking, talking, discussing and attending of that event. This is far more important than having them work on their addition facts.

Why?

They’ll remember the facts.

But it’s the soft skills that need work daily.

Although parents may say ‘let’s work on our child’s academic needs,’ we think summer is a time for structured and unstructured time. Your kids will catch up in September if their work needs guidance.

How?

Because the Montessori Method lets children learn at their own speed!

Tips for Summer

If you have younger kids—engage them! If they’re two, three or four, let them make edible things in the kitchen with you.

For example:

• Have them build strength in their hands for writing by kneading bread dough, or
• Focus on having them use hand/eye coordination tasks and motor skills
• Keep crayons, markers and pencils in the kitchen counter so they can draw

That will help them just as much as learning to write.

Kids should have scheduled and structured time and do things with parents. But, know that they also need unstructured down time to do what they want. When kids are bored, their imaginations will be sparked and they’ll know what to do. Having fun is part of summer!

So, parents, create a balance…a half-day or full day of structured time followed by unstructured time to let kids just be kids and noodle around. Their lives should be about doing things all the time…not just activities. But, as we know, activities are also a big part of expanding their world.

For example, camps, scouts, sports, music and other organized events are part of how to be part of your community and neighborhood. There’s just more time and opportunity during summer to participate. This helps your child grow his or her interpersonal skills.

And, home chores should be completed all the time--not just summer.

In this way, the Montessori Method approach of letting children learn at their own speed and letting them get it wrong until they finally get it right works both at home and school.

Lifetime Montessori School in Santaluz, a midpoint community in San Diego County, is open this summer for toddlers, primary and elementary school children. Specific summer sessions will focus on age-oriented activities that will engage children on a daily basis.