Summer’s Spark: Rekindling Curiosity and Play

Alright, so I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately—watching my cousins' kids and even remembering being that age myself. That feeling of freedom in the summer is something else entirely. It's what you look forward to all year, right? No more early mornings, no more worrying about pop quizzes or presentations. Just… space. Time to be a kid.

And as teachers, we know that space can also mean a little bit of forgetting. Not in a bad way, mostly just... things drift. I see it every September when we start back up; kids needing reminders on things they knew like the back of their hands six weeks prior. It's not something to panic about, but those first few days feel longer than usual.

My grandma always used to say that what you don’t use atrophies—like a muscle you stop working out. She didn’t mean it in some fancy way, just practical stuff like if you don't keep your tools sharp they get dull and useless. That applies to brains too. I’ve been trying to figure out how to explain that to parents without making them feel guilty about wanting their kids to genuinely relax.

This year, helping my grandma with her Sunday gravy felt kind of symbolic of that, actually. It's a slow process, simmering for hours, and if you let it sit untouched for too long things can go bad. Coming back to it after a few years had passed, I realized I’d forgotten some steps, some little tricks she taught me about getting the right consistency, the right depth of flavor. A nudge, a refresher course—that's all it took. It wasn’t “learning loss,” just a lapse in memory that needed tending to.

So what do you *do*? I don’t believe in worksheets or summer school for everyone – honestly, that kind of defeats the purpose of summertime. But there are ways to keep things bubbling along without forcing it. Reading is an obvious one, but make it something they actually want to read. Graphic novels, comics, silly joke books—anything to get them turning pages and thinking about stories.

I’ve noticed a big difference in the kids who spend time outside just *doing* stuff – building forts in the woods, collecting rocks, drawing chalk masterpieces on the sidewalk. Those experiences build skills too, you know? Problem-solving, creativity, working with your hands... You can't really measure that on a test, but it’s important. My cousin's daughter built an entire little village out of sticks and leaves last week – better than any math lesson I could have planned.

My own parents didn't push academics during the summer. They believed in letting us roam, figure things out. It’s made me realize how much that freedom helped shape who I am—how to be resourceful, independent, curious. Now, seeing kids glued to screens all day… it makes me wonder if we're accidentally shrinking those spaces for them to just *be*.

The thing is, finding the balance isn't about preventing forgetting entirely. It’s about creating opportunities to reconnect with that spark of curiosity and creativity when school starts again. A little bit of reading here, a lot of playing there—a slow simmer instead of an all-out boil. Maybe it just means letting them play in the dirt for a few hours more each day. Sometimes, the best learning happens outside the classroom.