Child Skill Development

“One man’s junk is another man’s treasure!” In this article I want to talk about having a garage sale. I know, it’s a lot of work! But hear me out…During summer break (or at a time that is good for you), take the time to go through your house. We have done this just about every summer as a family. This will help bring some order to everything and help you to be ready to start the new school year out on top. Decluttering is so good for everyone! Garage sales give your kids, even young ones, an opportunity to experience the entrepreneurial spirit. 

For my family, the end of the school year coincided with the beginning of my favorite season: garage sale season! That’s what I call it here in the Midwest. We’d visit towns near and far who were having neighborhood sales and spend the day seeing what treasures we could find! For my kids, they might have thought, “no school today!” but truthfully, they were just learning and reviewing those skills out in the real world. Sometimes that meant a bit more work for me, as I spotted opportunities for them to put their mind to work. Looking back, I see how those days at garage sales helped reinforce a variety of skills we were learning at home.

Pulling weeds isn’t the most exciting part of gardening, but it always brings me satisfaction. Some weeds come right out while others are stubborn and need a little extra pulling, often with a garden tool. When it has been hot and dry, I might even spray a little water first to make it easier. After weeding, I love admiring my beautiful flowers or hearty vegetable garden. As I relate this to learning, homeschooling has taught me that reluctant learners are like those beautiful flowers and garden plants. Oftentimes they just need the weeds pulled away to blossom and grow.

Summer is the perfect time to do fun and educational activities without the pressure of formal lessons! Kids can take time to explore things they enjoy and absorb learning through a wide range of summer activities. Here are some summer activities that double as learning opportunities, organized by theme so you can choose what best fits your family’s preferences!

It seems that kids these days have it easier when it comes to finding information. Just google it, and bam, there’s the answer! They don’t have to drive over to the library and pull large reference volumes off the shelf just to find the answer to a question or do a quick fact-check. Google is a fact of modern life and is almost essential to our lives as adults. But before our kids start googling, which is inevitable, we can teach them to be good searchers of information outside of the internet. This is an important skill to develop, and it usually means searching through physical books first!

So, your child is reading now—that's cause for celebration! But how do you know they're truly understanding? Discover Charlotte Mason's simple narration technique: a gentle way to check comprehension, build vocabulary, sharpen thinking skills, and transition from oral retellings to written summaries. Perfect for any age, genre, or curriculum, this fun method turns reading into deep, joyful learning!

Every year, Rainbow Resource Center receives hundreds of stories from young storytellers pouring their hearts and imaginations onto paper. We just finished up our 11^th annual summer book contest, and once again, I was blown away by the students’ talent! Of course, only a handful of stories could place overall, but regardless of scoring, if a student wrote an entire book, is that still not an amazing victory? They created a story out of thin air! Maybe as the parent of a reluctant writer, you’re wondering, how do I help my student write like that? Or maybe you have a voracious writer who consumes any piece of paper she sees and you’re wondering, how do I help her improve? As a writer who began her journey very young—and self-published three novels as a teenager—I would love to share some encouragement and practical tips for you as you cheer on your young writers.

For the last 10 summers, I have been honored to work on the Rainbow Resource Summer Book Contest for young authors from ages 7 to 18. Every student who writes and illustrates a story (and sends it in) receives a hardcover copy of their book in the mail. Since it is their book, the contest rules state that parents are not allowed to help. “At all?” you might ask. And of course, any parent involved in their child’s life would want to help with the creation of their child’s book! But for this contest, this is their product, and the challenge presents a unique opportunity for your child to learn how to take ownership to make a vision come to life.

Ever given your child a simple job like “Clean your room” or “Go get your math done,” and they respond as if you just asked them to climb Mt. Everest? Many kids (and adults!) today struggle with weak executive functioning skills, making it difficult to get organized, stay focused, and even know where to begin a task. The good news is that you can help them develop these skills, starting with one important strategy: teaching them to break big tasks down into manageable steps.

Is it just me, or are homeschooled kids particularly good at exploring their interests? There seems to be a natural curiosity that, when combined with a flexible schedule, leads them on all sorts of rabbit trails. With time and research, practice and development, these interests can become a hobby. These hobbies can become a high school elective and, if we are lucky, these interests can lead to a lifelong profession!