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My best friend is a single parent. Her child does a summer program offered by a local organization. She sprinkles in half day camps with other programs - this year she gets to go to a robotics camp and a Harry Potter camp in addition to the regular camps day trips the beach and local pools. Some friends are sahm's and they have kids going to these camps too and offered to drop off and pick up.

If you want experiences for your child, you find a way to make it happen - even on a limited income (my mother was a big fan of summer library programs and free community concerts).

I'm a working parent - I've had the "gift" of an unemployed spouse. It has created many struggles, but it allows our daughter to have a great childhood summer.

I don't think longer school years are the answer.

Or fathers. In America, mothers are the primary breadwinners in 40% of the families (according to census bureau data). The society has turned the corner.

In some houses there is a culture of education. When they were in the Elementary grades, both of my kids did Bridge activity books over the summer and were expected to read a (real) book a week. These books took a half to three-qarters of an hour--not very onerous if you ask me. Reading time was credited one-to-one for what our family calls "screen-time"--any time in front of a screen be it computer, TV or video games. After 4th grade they both also learned to type during the summer using software on the computer. NONE of these were expensive and have nothing to do with advantaged or disadvantaged.

The piano teacher takes two weeks off and offers classes the other weeks on a pay as you go basis. Unfortunately for us, going all summer accrued no benefit when it came to fall scheduling. It's one of the few things that I didn't like about her studio. We would have perfect attendance and go all summer but every fall she would move of us around repeatedly to try to make room for other students. I guess it's because we did try to be accommodating because we liked her but at times I did feel somewhat punished for being good.

Kurt

Wait! You said you have perfect attendance during summer and your teacher is moving you around to squeeze other students in during fall? Am I understand you correctly? If yes, it sound unethical to me.

For middle and upper class, maybe parents can afford for different activities such as camps and trips for summer, it will stimulate kids' learning experience. So, summer is good.
For lower class, summer=no learning if they cannot even afford to hire babysitter since now during summer kids sit at home all day without school and both parents has to work to support the family.
Problem is, how much middle class we have left here in America?

Have you not heard of Boys and Girls Club? Free activities all summer. The city park department, the public library and several other places often offer free summer activities.

Yes I heard of these free activities. Who will be taking kids there if both parents are working? Babysitter? Or maybe a premature 7YO can walk there by themselves for free activities in summer? During school, there is school bus taking them to school, how about in summer? I am not sure.

I grew up on welfare. My mom worked and my brother and I were latchkey kids from age 7 on. My mom made sure we had weekly library visits and in the evening we went to free summer concerts. With change we walked to the city pool, the library and park. We filled our library logs and as soon as I was 9 I was a library volunteer. We looked for cans and bottles to recycle and earned enough for occasional ice cream cones. We also played cards and kept basic math skills fresh.

We never entered school "behind" in the fall.

You can't change the culture of a household by extending the school year (because often it's not more school days, they are just spread out over the year). My cousin went to a year round school and her district is a failing district. My aunt moved her to private for high school because as the kids got older, the schools became more dangerous.

I don't know what the answers are for improving education.

But the US system was designed to have a long summer off for child labor to work on family farms, during a time when only 50% of the population went to school as far as 5th grade.

I just suspect there is so much more to learn now that it doesn't all fit in 8-9 months out of the year.

Could be wrong.

But if we had a longer school year, maybe we'd be able to fit in more band, choir, drama, art, etc. That would be my hope anyway. My kids didn't even get gym class in most of high school.

@MaggieGirl, thank you for both your posts. I hope they get read.

Not sure I'd like to see a "7 year old" walk to the city pool alone!? Not in this day and age!!!

I charge a yearly tuition (From Sep to Aug) that covers 42/52 weeks of lessons, recital fees, etc.

- In the summer students have 5 weeks off (their choice)
- They can make up missed lessons from the school year
- They can pay for extra lessons
- If they miss a lesson in the summer they can choose to make it up or not (but by Sep 1st - the start of the next 'year')
- I keep the same schedule as the school year unless a parent asks for something else in the summer.

Re22, I'm not sure what 42/52 means. Are you open for business 52 weeks a year?

Oh, I'm sorry. It means I teach 42 weeks out of the 52 week year. To answer your second question, if they family wants yes I will teach 52 weeks a year

I live in Switzerland and my daughter has five weeks off. I take the full five weeks off, too, unless someone specifically requests lessons and I am around and willing to teach. It wouldn't work any other way here, and to be honest, I look forward to the five weeks away from teaching.

As an aside, my daughter (8 years old) does walk everywhere by herself, but that's completely the norm here.