Last Days of Summer

August is here, and with it often comes plans to squeeze in the last enjoyments of summer, and laments about starting school again, perhaps too quickly, amidst hopes for more summertime.  

What have your gifted students done over the summer months? Have they participated in a camp of some sort, or been involved in activities at home or in the community, gone on a vacation with the family, or done something else of interest to them? Whatever your students did over the summer, these last few weeks of summer vacation provide time for them and the family to do a few final activities, or just to spend time relaxing and enjoying some free time before the busy fall school schedule begins.

A few gifted students shared some of the activities they like to do in late summer before they transition back to school. They said that their parents often do not have the time to plan a trip or formal activities toward the end of summer, so these are activities the students themselves planned. They acknowledged that some of the activities require parental help, such as driving to a state park, but the students said their parents were open to the activities since the students planned the events themselves and the parents didn’t have to take the time to plan. 

Here are ten ideas that these gifted students recommended.  Try some of them and have fun these last days of summer vacation!

1) Visit a state park or community park near you.
2) Have a splash party in your backyard; set up a lawn sprinkler, run through it, and play games such as keep-away.
3) Pack a lunch and take a local road trip to visit a place in your community or nearby that you have not visited before, or a place you have wanted to return to after a previous visit.
4) Spend a morning or afternoon in your local library exploring activities and non-book resources that are available to use in the library (games, maps and charts, kits, etc.).
5) Take a bike ride around your neighborhood or community, going a little further than you have before.
6) Watch and catalog things near your home – birds, insects, trees, etc. – and learn about them. 
7) Hold a frisbee or other yard game tournament; encourage students to make the rules and run the tournament.
8) Have a backyard picnic.
9) Organize a block picnic.
10) Camp overnight in your backyard.

Besides enjoying these activities, just think of all of the things students can learn while planning them!

Dr. Wanda Routier
Former WATG Board Member