Summer

{HISTORY}

Freedom on the Menu by Carole Boston Weatherford
Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles
Lily's Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff
Lucky by Wes Tooke
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
Summer Birds by Margarita Engle
Summertime in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm

* Do a one or two day study on the Civil Rights Movement.
* Do a one or two day study on the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.
* Read Summer Birds and use it along with a nature / life science study on butterflies.

{LITERATURE}

The Berenstain Bears Go to Camp by Stan Berenstain
Half Magic by Edward Eager
The Other Side by Jacqueline Woodson
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
The Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars
Weslandia by Paul Fleischman
When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt

* Read a fun book about summer and write (or draw, or tell) a book report on it.

{NATURE and LIFE SCIENCE}

Caterpillar Spring, Butterfly Summer by Susan Hood
Come on, Rain by Karen Hesse
Earthways by Carol Petrash
Fireflies by Julie Brinkloe
The Giant Jam Sandwich by John Vernon Lord
The Kid's Book of Weather Forecasting by Mark Breen
Kid's Camp! by Laurie Carlson
The Longest Day by Wendy Pfeffer
Mama, Is It Summer Yet? by Nikki McClure
Possum Summer by Jen K. Blom
The Seashore Book by Charlotte Zolotow
The Summer Solstice by Ellen Jackson
Sunflower House by Eve Bunting
Under Alaska's Midnight Sun by Deb Vanasse

* Do an activity or two from one of the above mentioned activity books (in green print).
* Celebrate the Summer Solstice or First Day of Summer by staying up late to watch the sunset.  Catch fireflies or have a bonfire after the sun goes down.
* Write a notebook of all the signs of summer you can see in your own backyard.
* Study the orbit of the earth around the sun, and discuss what summer and winter solstice and fall and spring equinox are.
* Start a bug collection.  Be sure to label all bugs with both their common and scientific names.

{PHYSICAL EDUCATION}

101 Cool Pool Games for Children by Kim Rodomista
The Boy Who Saved Baseball by John H. Ritter
The Boy's Summer Book by Guy Campbell
The Girl's Summer Book by Ellen Bailey
Canoe Days by Gary Paulsen
Henry and Mudge in the Green Time by Cynthia Rylant
The Kid's Summer Game Book by Jane Drake
The Kid's Summer Handbook by Ann Love
Summer Fun! by Susan Williamson

* Go swimming!  Try a new pool game.
* Play baseball together - invite the neighborhood kids to play with you.
* Go canoeing or boating.
* Pick a physically active game from one of the books mentioned above.  Have fun, and cool off in a pool or hose after you're done!