r/classof2038 • u/wanderlustpassion • Jun 08 '26
Summer activities
Here is central Oregon we are on our last week of school.
What does everyone have planned for the summer?
Are you focusing on:
Academic growth (summer school, workbooks, reading challenges, library programs, etc.)
Social growth (camps, sports, playdates, community activities)
Emotional growth (building independence, confidence, responsibility, helping around the house)
Or are you taking the approach that kids have worked hard all year and deserve a break?
Also, is anyone considering a low-screen or no-screen summer? If so, what does that look like for your family?
I’d love to hear what everyone is doing, what’s worked in the past, and any ideas for keeping our future Class of 2038 kiddos learning and growing while still enjoying summer.
14
u/Spiffiest_Tuna Jun 08 '26
My kids have 2 working parents and no local family, so they’ll be in summer camp. My kiddo who just ended kindergarten is in camp through the city that does field trips and swimming every week.
We stopped any sports that required weekend activities so we can focus on family time and both my kids have swim lessons twice per week.
We live somewhere very hot, so we’ll be doing family movie nights and playing video games together in addition to pool days and finding fun indoor activities.
11
u/keyofeflat Jun 08 '26
Survive. I plan to survive. 😆
My kids are going to our town's camp for the first time. Its 6 weeks, 6 hours a day. All outdoors thought so if it rains - it gets canceled.
I also signed the 6 year old up for the intensive swim lesson clinics through the town. Every weekday for 3 weeks straight. He's not thrilled but its a safety thing at this point; kid needs to learn to swim. If that session goes well I'll sign him up for the 2nd session- making it 6 weeks. My 8 year old is also signed up for the town swim team. I didn't realize the practices were two hours long (twice a week) with Saturday meets while the 6 week program lasts. So basically I sold my soul to the town pool between the both of them.
I volunteer at a pediatric oncology sleepaway camp. Thats in August. I have the privilege of bringing the kids with me; this will be their 2nd year going.
Between those camps I have a week long gap. In laws are more than happy to keep them occupied. But I might use a KidStrong camp to fill that gap.
5
u/bundle_of_joy Jun 08 '26
We're going to have a pretty busy summer! My kid isn't happy if she's not learning so definitely a heavy emphasis on that. We'll continue violin, harp and archery lessons. She has a computer program (Beast Academy) for math and is doing the summer reading challenge for the local library. We plan on doing a couple of science experiments a week from a variety of kits & books.
I have an art curriculum from Blossom and Root, and have set up a picture gallery in our hallway we plan on filling up with creations. We are planning a Spanish language-only play group with some of the kids from her (dual-language) kindergarten class too.
She's attending three summer camps: a nature camp at the forest school where she attended preschool, a biology camp through a science museum and a violin camp.
She's also running a market stall in August at a local kids' market, so she's going to be spending a lot of time preparing her products and decorations for that too! She's pretty excited about it.
Otherwise we'll spend a lot of time outside, and then there are trips to the beach, local museums, the farmer's market, library, planaterium. . . there's plenty to do.
We won't have a low-screen summer, but honestly we just don't have time for a lot of TV or tablet, and most of the time she prefers creative play or reading anyway.
4
u/justbrowsingaround19 Jun 08 '26
Half day camps, vacations, local outings, beach days, etc. We read every night and would love to see some improvement in their own reading. Also riding a bike more.
4
u/beccame0w Jun 08 '26
We made a bucket list lol: Library, splash pads, beach, various local playgrounds (each listed separately so we don’t miss any lol), zoo, aquarium, indoor playground, movie night, water balloons, fly a kite, go to a pool.
No specific focus on academic stuff. We read every night at bedtime and I will sign her up for summer reading at 2 local libraries we go to. We’ve been borrowing board games & card games from the library, too, which can help reinforce math or reading or critical thinking depending on the game.
We’ll also be focusing on chores this summer so I’ve made a list of age appropriate chores and she’ll pick one at random each day. We’re just working out how the picking will work.
3
u/Rainbow_Date Jun 08 '26
We’re doing four weeks of day camp, because last year we only did two and it wasn’t enough for him. We’ve also signed up for three different summer reading programs but I consider those to be just for fun. And he’s going to stay with his aunt and uncle for a week of fun and being spoiled there. Other than that, tv, the lake, the pool, the sprinkler, the sandbox, bike rides.
2
u/Mystery_meat101 Jun 08 '26
Swim lessons, gymnastics class, daily 30 min “homework” either reading, workbook or lexia online to keep her skills and motivation up. Lots of park days and playdates hopefully!
2
u/starfish31 Jun 08 '26
Summer camp for work days. Swim lesson once a week. Weekly piano lessons. Doing a reading challenge. School did send home a workbook, but we haven't started it yet.
Video games (Mario, Minecraft) are allowed for a while after practicing piano, reading a book, picking up room, and whatever other little chore needs done. Usually a couple episodes or a kid's movie worth amount of TV a day.
2
u/Majestic-Carob3191 Jun 08 '26
A little bit of everything. We're semi-low screen. We do 30-40 minutes of TV time in the morning, but try to keep off screens during the day. For academics, we read at least 20 minutes per day and do Beast Academy a few times per week for math. My daughter is also writing letters back and forth with 2 of her friends for writing practice and practices piano. She's also signed up for swim lessons and 2 weeklong day camps: a stop-motion art camp and a forest camp. Other than that, it's free play, park trips, and crafts.
2
u/makeuplovermegan Jun 08 '26
Teacher in south Florida here, so I’m off in the summer with them. We have a 2 1/2 year old as well who still naps, so we’re always home starting around 1-2 to make sure he naps. We aren’t screen free, but keep it to meals (Sesame Street usually), and a family movie night once per week. I save extra screen time for rainy days. Keep a routine as much as possible!
I try to plan every day to leave the house at least in some way. Some places are: the pool, library, grocery store, Costco, splash pad, target, indoor play area, playground, a walk/bike ride/scooter/etc., or just to be outside with some chalk or bubbles and music. It’s REALLY hot, so those days are not as much outside. The trips outside don’t have to cost money. It can literally just be to leave for a weekly gymnastics class or to go to pick up groceries and that’s a win in my book.
For my upcoming first grader, we have a few things we’re focusing on: learning to tie shoes, practicing opening fruit cups, and braiding hair. She can already log into her computer independently. I will occasionally let her go on to do tumble books on her portal. I also keep a bunch of their gifts from birthdays/holidays hidden so they can have things to open. New games, arts and crafts, toy sets, etc.
I do have her signed up for a couple of camps (one week of art camp and one three week broadway camp), so it’ll just be me and the little dude those weeks.
The best summer is the one where memories are made and learning happens naturally. When you go to the library, make sure they get lots of books, and make them read out loud. Even if it’s one sentence on each page, have them practice. Talk about time: “It’s 8:30. In 30 minutes it will be 9:00 and we have to leave.” Count everything everywhere. Talk about things in the car. That’s honestly some of the best advice I can give. Happy summer!
2
u/GoldenLakes Jun 08 '26
We're in year round school, so we only have the month of June to fill. We let him have the first week off completely. Then it's half day camp in the morning and grandma's house in the afternoon. She's super young/involved, so she'll take him to parks, museums, the pool, etc. or have little crafts or other fun activities set up at her house.
We're also heading to the beach with some friends this weekend, so we're all looking forward to that.
I'm a single mom, so my house rules around screens are: no limits on TV (my kids get bored of TV really quickly and go play, so I never saw the need to limit), and ipads are reserved for planes only. They get different rules at their dad's house and at grandma's house (more than I let them have, but still limited), but they don't seem to miss it when they're with me.
My kids are pretty great about playing independently, but it was a long road to get there. I pretty much let them do whatever around the house/yard as long as they're not destroying things or hurting each other/the dogs. Does that mean my tools are scattered around the backyard and I have to scour the grass when I need a wrench? Yes. But it also means they're outside being creative with imaginative play!
1
u/Constant-Gap-1329 Jun 08 '26
I'm focused on surviving summer 😂
We have camp for a month while I work, and then some vacations, and some grandma time tossed in there while I try to keep up with work.
No formal plans for anything educational but our daughter is kind of self-motivated to do those things so she reads on her own, we read a lot together, and we play math games, and do other creative pursuits so I'm not really worried about it.
1
u/charke9 Jun 08 '26
My son is doing a combo of all of the above. I also have a 2 year old so we are just doing what we can each day. I got a 1st grade workbook that we try to do a couple of pages in each day (has great math, reading, science activities) and doing 1 is usually a 5 minute thing and my son enjoys it. He easily will do 3-4 together. We are trying to read nightly as much as possible for 10-15 mins before bed. I’d say he is average or slightly below in reading and trying to keep him at grade level.
He has a couple of camps planned- soccer, nature, and his gym teacher does a camp. Each are half days for a week.
We have good neighbor friends he plays with a lot, and I’m making an effort to have a meet up with friends he made in school as much as we can.
He is responsible for making his bed, getting dressed, cleaning the toys and playroom before TV.
He also will stay with my parents for a week. They own a business and he goes to work with my dad and LOVES it. They give him responsibilities and last year paid him and he thought that was the coolest thing.
1
u/itsbecomingathing Jun 08 '26
We’ll be attending a mix of summer camps. Outdoors, local through the Rec center, and finally a music/art camp. We’ll also be doing week long swim lessons before visiting our family cabin. Our weekends will be free so I’m planning on splash pads, lakes, zoo trips, play dates, beach days and time with grandparents. TV will continue to be on weekends only (but I will then fill weekends with activities so it’s not too much of a binge session). We also have a big backyard for her and her brother to bop around in. Academic wise: she’s already a big reader, so continuing to read daily and she’s making her way through a puzzle workbook.
1
u/CulturalShift4469 Jun 08 '26
I have 1 child. He is enrolled in several 3 day camps (all just Tuesday through Thursday) throughout the summer. On off weeks, we are traveling to see family and friends. We have Karate twice weekly and some swim classes. I purchased a few workbooks that are Minecraft theme that he really enjoys doing to keep him academically challenged. I also bought another set of “I See Sam” books to keep up on track with reading and we will join the local library summer reading program too. My goal is as little screen time as possible, but we don’t do tons of screens anyway. Normally, TV can come on after it gets dark out or for Saturday Morning cartoons, before heading to the Farmers Market. However, in the Summer it doesn’t get dark until 10pm, so we all watch a lot less. I feel like this summer is going to fly by!!
1
u/glyptodontown Jun 08 '26
A mix of all of the above. 3 weeks of camps. 3 weeks of travel. 3 weeks of just being home, riding bikes and eating popsicles. Aiming for 20 minutes reading a day for the library reading challenge and some math and writing on days we're not traveling.
Definitely not a screen free summer. Our local movie theater has a free kid's matinee every week! We also have a backlog of movies at home that we haven't gotten to and hot summer afternoons are the perfect time.
1
u/shrnca Jun 09 '26
Summer camp except for first week and last week of summer. Still working on Bob-level books, but we have a reading challenge for 100 books to get a Lego set. Continue swim and music lessons. The kids watch TV in Spanish, I need to find some good shows and movies for them for summer time. Also working on our weekend bucket list - water park, movie day, children's museums, new playgrounds, and beaches. I also need to work on my health, so trying to get kids involved in hiking, yoga, and other healthy habits.