“Do you think I’m learning?”

Last summer, my 10-year-old, asked me, “Do you think I’m learning?”

It’s an interesting question, for sure, and unexpected, except that she loves checklists, planners, and grades, and struggles to adjust to summer break when school is out.

Instead of answering her question directly, I asked my own series of questions.

• Do you know how long baby kittens’ eyes stay closed?
• Do you know how to start seeds indoors?
• Do you know how to plant a tomato plant?
• Can you care for baby chicks?
• Did you teach your little sister how to sort by color?
• Do you know how a terrarium uses the water cycle to recycle water?

She didn’t learn any of those things in 4th grade (and that’s not a slam – I was her teacher). Instead, she learned them all by doing. And she lit up when she realized just how much new information she has acquired in just a few weeks.

Summer is a tough season for many parents and kids. The temptation is to either sign up for every camp or take endless vacations so we don’t have to figure out what to do at home, or use screens as perpetual entertainment.

Instead, what if summer break was a time for kids to explore things THEY want to learn about? What if some boredom is good for them, because they have to solve it creatively? What if summer became the time for hands-on (or for real, as my kids say) learning?

I have a challenge for you as summer is about to begin. Ask the kids in your life what they want to know more about, and then say yes. Find ways to give them experiences that take hours, days, and weeks to unpack. Guide them into new topics and new hobbies. You never know what might come from them.

As a result of our cat having baby kittens (that was unexpected, but very cool), my kids have researched how to tell if kittens are boys or girls, cared for 6 kittens and the Mama day in and day out, and made hard decisions about which ones to keep and how to find good homes for the rest. They’ve marveled at how the Mama cat has taught the babies how to hunt through play, and they taught their little sister how to handle the kitties properly (she’s 2. It’s hard).

There are dozens of STEM lessons, business lessons, and life lessons all wrapped up in an incredible experience that has occupied hours and hours of their time.

You may not be able to experience the wonder of kitten birth, but there are dozens of things you can say yes to this summer.