Themes and projects

Got this email from Meira A.:

Becca-

Thought this was a good idea. I got it from bulletin board. Maybe we could brainstorm different themed weeks with outings and things to do at home.

My kids beg me to do our "Theme Weeks" each summer instead of going to camp. Each week gets a theme (Space, Bugs, Around the World, Sports, Water, Farm, etc) and we plan outings, crafts, snacks, get books/DVDs from the library, do games/activities/science experiences all based around the theme. You can find just about anything on the internet for free. My kids LOVE it...I kinda wish they would rather go to camp 'cause it is a lot of work! But it is fun. And now that they are old enough, they love contributing to the planning. The older ones also document the summer in their journal/scrapbooks so they get to practice their writing plus have a nice reminder of the summer.

Meira

I like the themes suggested. Just a few more ideas off the top of my head:

cars (Peterson Museum or the one suggested in a post earlier today, learn how to draw a car, set up a giant Hot Wheels track, go-cart racing)

trains/subway (ride the subway! visit Union Station or ride the trains in Irvine, as described in a post below)

airplanes (which reminds me I should post about the tours of the airfield in Santa Paula...)

tide pools (visit at low tide)

historic L.A./SoCal (visit Heritage Sq. in Pasedena, a local rancho, or Olvera St.)

mad science (visit a local sci museum, do projects at home)

ahavas yisroel (could do chessed projects of various types, send cards to almanos, make a little tehillim party for cholim, etc.)

winter in July (go ice skating, make "snowmen" out of cotton balls, eat shaved ice, learn about Antarctica and the Arctic)

"when I was a kid" (do all the things you liked as a kid, eat the things you liked as a kid, visit the home you grew up in if it's local, etc.).

You might want to look at current museum exhibits and tie into one of those, too.

Ask your kids what they'd like to do. One of my kids already told me he wants to learn how to do origami.

(photo by Damien du Toit)

We've already found some how-to videos on YouTube, and we plan to borrow books on the topic from the library. Another kid wants to learn how to play harmonica. We'll see how that one goes (especially since I don't know how to play myself).

Mommies out there: Any other ideas?