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Show Home & School Summernotend of learning By Dr. Daryl J. McCarty Executive Secretary Utah Education Association Children's school vacations start in the next few days, but learning needn't and shouldn't stop during the next three months. The student who takes a vacation from thinking often has difficulty resuming school in the fall. But how can parents keep their children's minds at work during June, July or August? Some suggestions: Budget a little more time with your children and do things such as taking them to the supermarket with you. Then hit them with a problem. "Which is the better buy," you may ask, "a six-ounce package of cereal for 64 cents or a ten-ounce ten-ounce package for 96 cent-s?" cent-s?" Maybe a son or daughter is old enough to apply for a summer job. If so, it can be a great learning experience. How? Read over the job openings in the newspaper classified section with your young job-seeker. Visit the Job Service office. Check businesses where you see "help wanted" signs. Help your son or daughter to complete a job application form properly. Sometime in the summer you may be able to give the family a history lesson. Every community has an interesting past, if you'll take the trouble to dig it out. Never take the family to Washington, D.C. without touring one of the most in-teresting in-teresting buildings anywhere-the Capitol. Or go to a nearby canyon where ancient Americans carved fascinating figures in the rock and ask the kids: "Were they doing this to send us messages centuries after they died-or were they just expressing themselves artistically?" A lesson in geography: Have your youngster plan the route for your vacation trip. Ask questions, such as, "Will we need ice for desert travel?" "Will there be any mountains that could give our car a difficult time?" "Should we take raincoats when we visit Vancouver?" Don't forget reading. Summer's a great time for this. Set aside an evening for the family to visit the library-discover its various departments and go back as many times as you can. But one caution: Since it's summer, why not let the kids choose books they want to read? That way, maybe they'll do more reading. |