How much studying is your elementary child doing this summer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:None. DS is entering 6th. This thread has been a real eye-opener.

Where do you all live? How would you describe your culture/ethnicity/race/country of origin?

Nobody I know in my neighborhood does this, nor do DS's classmates at his independent school in DC.

Have you asked every single one of them? I highly doubt it. Unless it's a school that only goes up to 2nd grade or something.

We live in Bethesda. The clueless middle-class American parents who think time stands still and life will treat their children exactly the way it treated them, are of the opinion that childhood should be as fun and work-free as possible. After all, they'll be able to get into an Ivy just as easily as their parents did (I actually know parents like this). And then the recent educated immigrants and foreigners, as well as more far-seeing Americans, see the changing world and hard-core global competition and expect their kids to be at least two grades ahead in everything, and to develop their critical thinking skills. This usually means some measure of academic study during the holidays and enrichment all year. They strive to make it interesting and stimulating. Academics don't have to be drudgery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None. DS is entering 6th. This thread has been a real eye-opener.

Where do you all live? How would you describe your culture/ethnicity/race/country of origin?

Nobody I know in my neighborhood does this, nor do DS's classmates at his independent school in DC.

Have you asked every single one of them? I highly doubt it. Unless it's a school that only goes up to 2nd grade or something.

We live in Bethesda. The clueless middle-class American parents who think time stands still and life will treat their children exactly the way it treated them, are of the opinion that childhood should be as fun and work-free as possible. After all, they'll be able to get into an Ivy just as easily as their parents did (I actually know parents like this). And then the recent educated immigrants and foreigners, as well as more far-seeing Americans, see the changing world and hard-core global competition and expect their kids to be at least two grades ahead in everything, and to develop their critical thinking skills. This usually means some measure of academic study during the holidays and enrichment all year. They strive to make it interesting and stimulating. Academics don't have to be drudgery.

Then their kids kill themselves in high school or college because of the pressure. No thanks. My kids (13 and 10) learn during the summer, but it's largely experiential, combined with some pleasure reading. I don't care if my kids go to Ivy league schools. I know plenty of Ivy league graduates so i guess I don't think it's all that. I'd rather raise happy, well-adjusted adults (even if they do go to "lesser" colleges). I've officially opted out of the academic arms race. One of my kids is very bright and will probably do well regardless. The other has an LD, so pushing her is not going to make her learn any faster--it will probably turn her off.

[Anonymous]

None, but it's mostly due to her age. She's 5. I'm cracking the whip when she turns six though.

[Anonymous]

Free play is VERY important for young children. It helps them develop critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, and (if with other kids), social skills. Little kids need a lot of that.
That said, my 6 yo reads at least one book to use 5 days a week; we read to him daily; and he writes letters and in his journal (he initiates the writing). Other than that, he plays, we play board games, cook/measure together, hike, visit museums, swim, play, travel, etc. We try to fit learning into everything: reading books from the library about the places we will visit on an upcoming trip; talking about history while at museums; discussing biology while in the woods; math/money while shopping, etc. Experiential learning in the summer-- not tons of workbooks.

[Anonymous]

Rising second grader. No "studying." Some reading on her own, and we read with her every night. She likes puzzles and board/card games. She goes to camp and plays with her friends outside. Practices piano every once in a while.

And, I'm going to go ahead and say it....SHE WATCHES TV! No TV on school nights but summer is different. We watch the Nats games most nights, and she also loves America Ninja Warrior.

Going to an Ivy isn't not our objective for our kids.

[Anonymous]

My kids are 9 and 12. They read books and we go to science centers, museums and stuff but they don't really do any studying. It's summer.

[Anonymous]

Second language, supplemental subjects on a weekly rotation, and lots of experiential learning through trips, hands-on experiences, and the like.

2 hours or less per day, depending on age.

Free play is very important, IMO, so on most days the kids have at least 6-8 fairly unstructured hours depending on whether we have a family trip or activity planned.

[Anonymous]

I can't imagine treating the 7-year old like a worker-in-training. In the summer she plays, reads, swims, etc. We travel and visit the zoo and make pottery. She spends 2 weeks at her granparents' house where they sleep late every day, watch lots of old Disney movies, and probably eat dessert with every meal.

I don't think about "hard-core global competition" when I plan out our summer.

[Anonymous]

Our six year old (heading into first) is spending about half an hour on school work. I bought a general review book for her grade level and a handwriting book. We also do some reading and writing - she picks a book, reads it to me, and then writes two sentences about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None. DS is entering 6th. This thread has been a real eye-opener.

Where do you all live? How would you describe your culture/ethnicity/race/country of origin?

Nobody I know in my neighborhood does this, nor do DS's classmates at his independent school in DC.

Have you asked every single one of them? I highly doubt it. Unless it's a school that only goes up to 2nd grade or something.

We live in Bethesda. The clueless middle-class American parents who think time stands still and life will treat their children exactly the way it treated them, are of the opinion that childhood should be as fun and work-free as possible. After all, they'll be able to get into an Ivy just as easily as their parents did (I actually know parents like this). And then the recent educated immigrants and foreigners, as well as more far-seeing Americans, see the changing world and hard-core global competition and expect their kids to be at least two grades ahead in everything, and to develop their critical thinking skills. This usually means some measure of academic study during the holidays and enrichment all year. They strive to make it interesting and stimulating. Academics don't have to be drudgery.

Ivies being even harder to get into is EXACTLY why you shouldn't sweat it and shouldn't pressure your kids. Personally I'm not always impressed by Ivy grads I've met, and quite often the most brilliant and successful never set foot on an Ivy campus. There are many, many paths to success.

90 percent of 6-7 year olds who are spending hours a day on drills, academics, instrument practice, etc. are going to be burned out by the time they hit their teens. There are plenty of ways to develop critical thinking skills that do not involve academics at all. Kids don't develop a work ethic by having their whole life planned out for them.

Here's what my 7 year old is actually doing this summer:
Swimming
Riding his bike
Playing with friends and neighbors
reading manga and other books on his own, every day
practicing piano 20 minutes on his own, every day
developing somewhat sophisticated paper airplanes
Playing tennis with Daddy
Drawing
Legos
Model Kits
Making up and playing silly games with younger sister
TV
Video games
Learning how to prepare foods like rice and simple salads
Khan Academy

Here's what I planned for him but hasn't happened so far:
Getting a jump on math skills (little motivation on my part as he is already ahead, grasps things quickly, and we're not doing AAP no matter what - should I make him do it anyway?)
Practicing his immersion language, though he will attend a camp and has regular exposure to the language
Cursive writing - he has excellent fine motor skills and really wanted to learn this last summer but I didn't jump on it in time. He's less interested this summer.

He is insanely jealous of the "kids" (teenage children of the brick-laying contractor working in our neighborhood) who "get" to work and is looking forward to turning 14 and getting a job. Ha!

We're not worried about him. Right now his dreams for the future involve industrial design and/or military. They'll likely change, but I believe he will have the ability and work ethic to do what he wants for the most part.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Zero. She's reading, writing, and drawing, but anything beyond that is not really happening. (Rising 1st grader)

What studying do you mean?

DS is a beginner reader. He likes being read to but hates practicing reading. He gets frustrated that he can't read most of the big words. At the same time, he hates the BOB type books too. It is frustrating for all of us. Considering getting him a reading tutor.

I also have various workbooks that he seems to hate doing. I am not trying to get him to do hours of work, maybe 10-20 minutes per day. He has been legitimately sick a few days but he makes so many excuses.

He needs a break. Read to him. Read to him some more. Take the pressure off. He's going to get it. Don't worry about the workbooks and stuff. Give him some paint or stickers and let him have some actual fun. It is summertime!

To answer the original question, he reads a lot, but otherwise no official work!

OP here. I used to be very worried about his reading but he tests very well. Although he can't read the questions themselves, he gets most answers correct.

I guess we do a lot of experiential learning. We spent two weeks in Europe, have done road trips and have gone to multiple museums. We go to the library every week. He enjoys books on animals and the usual boy stuff like Ninjago and star Wars. I think we spend too much time at the pool and beach. 6yo did learn how to swim this summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Zero. She's reading, writing, and drawing, but anything beyond that is not really happening. (Rising 1st grader)

What studying do you mean?

DS is a beginner reader. He likes being read to but hates practicing reading. He gets frustrated that he can't read most of the big words. At the same time, he hates the BOB type books too. It is frustrating for all of us. Considering getting him a reading tutor.

I also have various workbooks that he seems to hate doing. I am not trying to get him to do hours of work, maybe 10-20 minutes per day. He has been legitimately sick a few days but he makes so many excuses.

He needs a break. Read to him. Read to him some more. Take the pressure off. He's going to get it. Don't worry about the workbooks and stuff. Give him some paint or stickers and let him have some actual fun. It is summertime!

To answer the original question, he reads a lot, but otherwise no official work!

OP here. I used to be very worried about his reading but he tests very well. Although he can't read the questions themselves, he gets most answers correct.

I guess we do a lot of experiential learning. We spent two weeks in Europe, have done road trips and have gone to multiple museums. We go to the library every week. He enjoys books on animals and the usual boy stuff like Ninjago and star Wars. I think we spend too much time at the pool and beach. 6yo did learn how to swim this summer.

That all sounds excellent! He will be fine. My kids don't like the BOB books either but still learned to read very well in spite of it. Swimming is important too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None. DS is entering 6th. This thread has been a real eye-opener.

Where do you all live? How would you describe your culture/ethnicity/race/country of origin?

Nobody I know in my neighborhood does this, nor do DS's classmates at his independent school in DC.

Not sure what the questions posed have anything to do anything...

I think PP is obviously wondering if this is limited to a certain subgroup, like upper middle class white people, or recent immigrants.

I'm one of the PPs, whose early elementary kids are doing workbooks/computer + instrument practice, and I'm pretty sure I don't fit any of PP's stereotypes about what kind of parents are building academics into the other summer activities (swimming, biking, watching tv).

[Anonymous]

None.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:None. DS is entering 6th. This thread has been a real eye-opener.

Where do you all live? How would you describe your culture/ethnicity/race/country of origin?

Nobody I know in my neighborhood does this, nor do DS's classmates at his independent school in DC.

Have you asked every single one of them? I highly doubt it. Unless it's a school that only goes up to 2nd grade or something.

We live in Bethesda. The clueless middle-class American parents who think time stands still and life will treat their children exactly the way it treated them, are of the opinion that childhood should be as fun and work-free as possible. After all, they'll be able to get into an Ivy just as easily as their parents did (I actually know parents like this). And then the recent educated immigrants and foreigners, as well as more far-seeing Americans, see the changing world and hard-core global competition and expect their kids to be at least two grades ahead in everything, and to develop their critical thinking skills. This usually means some measure of academic study during the holidays and enrichment all year. They strive to make it interesting and stimulating. Academics don't have to be drudgery.

I'm a Pp from earlier who talked about baking and board games is our summer learning. You may think it's not enough, but I do. My children have spent the morning planning a jewelry store--they made signs, they made jewelry, they set up the toy cash register. I have had nothing to do with it at all, I have been cleaning. They have access to materials and they're running with it. The sign making=literacy skills. The jewelry making= fine motor skills, which can lead to better hand writing; as well as helping them focus and follow through. The cash register=math practice. The play and imagination part as they pretend to buy and sell is contributing to their social skills, which are just as powerful predictor of success as grades and SAT scores.

If your kid enjoys worksheets and math games, that's great! They're not inherently bad. But don't knock play-based learning for the early years, there's a lot of merit to it. And you have no idea where these kids will be in 30 years or what the workforce in this country will even look like.