Montessori Childrens House
of the west coast

Preparing for Summer

Posted on Wednesday, June 10, 2009

School will be out in 2 weeks and summer vacation officially begins!!!  We all have fond memories of the end of the school year and the start of summer vacation: summer camp, family vacations and spending more time with family at home.  Actually for myself, because I lived on a small farm in rural Oregon, summers meant work; work in the fields to bring in the crops.  My family never took vacations in the summer, but it was definitely a change of routine; a routine that started with harvesting strawberries in the early summer and ended with picking pole beans in the late summer, up very early in the morning often before sunrise and in bed early - lots of work.
Summer generally means a change in your family’s daily routines. We know that young children as well as whole families do not do well with change, but with a little planning and preparation summer vacation can actually be fun and stress free.

•Keep summer schedules as close to the normal routine as possible. If changes are necessary keep them simple and few.  With young children you don’t want to over schedule them with too many different activities.
•During the coming summer months, it is in your child’s best interest to help him or her retain the social and educational progress that blossomed this year. This can best be accomplished by helping to ensure your home provides a supportive, Montessori environment.  If you have questions about how this is done talk to your teacher or to me.
•If you are going on an extended trip or a special summer camp talk to your child in advance about what to expect.  If you plan well, are confident and express joy and excitement about the trip or the camp, your child will be reassured and share in the joy.
•Visit the site of a new summer program before the program begins so that your child has some familiarity with the new venue.  After your visit ask your child what he thinks and if he has questions. This will help to put your child at ease.
•Take family vacations that expose your child to different cultures and their unique attributes like food, art, language and customs.  Study about the culture before you start the vacation. Even a trip to another state to visit relatives can be a change in culture.  Prepare your child in advance for what to expect and what might be of interest.
•When visiting different places your child will probably want to collect various objects. Set up a room at home with plenty of space for different collections.  Provide shoe boxes for your child to arrange and group items of interest. This will help them to organize those found objects and study them throughout the year.

With a little preparation, summer can be fun and memorable for the whole family!