Summer School Review
Photo image courtesy Teri Gasser
“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven:”
-- Ecclesiastes 3:1
As I gaze at the stars on a hot summer night, I’m aware of my ignorance. Ancient peoples grasped astronomy better than most of us. The stars served as their calendar and compass. Now we have smartphones and light pollution.
Yet, as I stroll through stores with modern bearings, I know that ads for composition books at $0.99 each mark the start of back-to-school season. Soon, farmers in rural communities around the Northern Hemisphere will harvest their fields. And even sooner, teachers will be gathering children into classrooms.
It surprises me how many empty-nesters, including myself, have adopted a school-year rhythm. As teachers and children return to the classroom, many of us will resume Bible studies or volunteering in children’s ministries, such as AWANA. And those of us who write will be harvesting cheap school supplies.
Harvest implies that crops have ripened. Children heading back to school have been maturing all summer, too. They need bigger clothes and new supplies; they’ve also grown in other ways. We can help them discover all they’ve learned through these hot, lazy days.
Books teach many things, but only practical experience perfects new skills. Diving into a book won’t teach you how to swim. Digging through a gardening book won’t put garden-fresh vegetables on your dinner table. Looking at maps, even a map of the stars, pales in comparison to the sensations of traveling there yourself.
Before young people hurry off to class, let’s help them review the valuable lessons gained from their summer experiences. Let’s ask the old essay prompt, “What did you do on your summer vacation?”
If it’s possible, let’s take our children or grandchildren out to where they can see the stars. Let’s keep them up late a few more times and enjoy s’mores and sweet conversations. We could even let them help start the fire in the pit.
Let’s ask them good questions like, “How does a store-bought tomato taste different than the one from the garden?” or “What did it feel like to jump off the high diving board for the first time this summer?” Let’s be mindful of how we can weave our Creator into these conversations.
As we point up to the night sky, let’s remind them that God named each one of those stars, and He knows their names, too. Remind the kids in your life that God is going back to school with them.
Questions for Reflection:
1. What has the Lord been teaching you this summer?
2. Who will you help with a summer school review?
