Buy Your Lunch

Give your child a page with math facts on it (like a timed test page). Set a time limit and assign a monetary value to each problem. At the end of the stated time, the child is paid for each correctly completed problem. This money is then used to buy lunch. 

Set up a "cafeteria" with various lunch items: sandwiches, snacks, and special treats. Put a price tag on each item, for instance "$0.05 for a pickle" or "$1.98 for a bag of M&Ms."  Adjust your prices according to how much money was given for each problem (you don't want them to go hungry or stuff themselves), what area of math you want to practice (counting by fives, making change, etc.), and what you would prefer they ate (healthy low, unhealthy high). 

This is also a great way to teach opportunity costs (economics): If you buy the chips, you won't have enough to buy the raisins. Or you can't afford both the cookie and the candy bar so you will have to pick just one. 

My children LOVED doing this. It was the only way they do math without complaining. (We only did it occasionally as I normally didn't let them have snacky-type food.) 

(You could probably "pay" your kids for doing other types of work too, but we always used math worksheets.) 

Summer, Educational or Fun?

When you live in an environment where learning takes place among the happenings of everyday life, the lines between “education” and “enjoyment” start to get a little fuzzy.  As a result, if you were to visit my home on a summer afternoon, you might see one of my sons studying a science text. Or you might see one of my little girls at the table working on her phonics. You might even get a glimpse of my older daughter curled up on the couch with a math book. (Hey, it’s Life of Fred!)

I don’t consider myself to be a year-round schooler. So, for all practical purposes, we are on vacation. But you can’t stop learning from taking place. And when my children saw all the books for next year beginning to fill up our school shelves, they just couldn’t resist. Before I knew it, those books were making their way down off the shelves and the line between education and enjoyment had been completely obliterated.

I’m thrilled, of course. I want my children to understand that learning happens all the time. And while I’m not opposed to forcing them to complete assignments (a few of the kids are still finishing some of their work from last year), I’d rather they took responsibility for their own educations.

But don’t think that bookwork is the only way that we’ve been learning this summer. While “education” can be enjoyable, fun can also be a learning experience.  And we’ve been having some great fun this summer.

Here are a few things (involving books or not involving books) that we’ve done:

• We’ve made regular trips to the library. The children signed up for and completed the summer reading program, and are still bringing home stacks of books to devour
• We’ve been listening to the Chronicles of Narnia on CD
• We’ve planted two gardens and are weeding them, harvesting, eating and preserving vegetables
• The two oldest boys are studying biology and are getting together every week with a friend to do experiments
• Our oldest daughter is working on general science and algebra
• Our oldest daughter and one of her older brothers have started reading the books I picked out for an American literature study
• We attended an Egypt themed VBS and learned more about God and the Bible
• the baby started walking
• The boys attended a basketball camp held at the local high school
• We attended a Mayberry theme party and met delegate Charles Poindexter
• We had a bat in our house, which led to a study of rabies
• Our oldest daughter and my husband went deep sea fishing with some friends
• My youngest daughter (who decided that she REALLY wants to read) is doing phonics and trying to read books waaaaay above her level