LEARNING THAT DOESN’T FEEL LIKE SCHOOL MENTALLY STIMULATING ACTIVITIES FOR SUMMER
Every summer, parents across the country have to deal with the same delicate problem. They want to make sure their kids continue to learn without feeling like they’re being assigned tasks. After all, summer homework is every child’s worst nightmare. Luckily, you don’t have to rely on math problems and book reports to keep your child’s development from taking a two-month vacation. Here are a fewmentally stimulating activities that are as educational as they are fun. FOR LITTLE ONES: HOMEMADE BUBBLES Bubbles fascinate young children, so why not spend a day making your own solution and experimenting with different types of bubbles? The formula is simple: 1 part dish soap (Dawn or Joy work best) to 10 parts water. Optionally, you can also include 1/4 part
glycerin. The process of making the solution will teach ratios, and finding creative ways to blow bubbles fosters problem-solving skills and creative thinking.
FOR TEENAGERS: FAMILY DINNER PARTY Cooking teaches so many important skills: math, science, nutrition, concentration, cultural understanding, following directions, creativity, time management, and more. Even better, it doesn’t feel like learning; it feels like fun. Encourage your older children to take the reins for preparing regular meals throughout the summer. You can pick guiding themes, like“a trip to Mexico”or“pasta party,”but let them choose the recipes and prep the meals on their own. FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY: AN EDUCATIONAL FIELD TRIP Field trips always inspire excitement in students, and you’ll find the same goes for your family members. You can tailor your destination to the interests of your kids for maximum engagement. If you have a family of art lovers, head to a museum for some inspiration and discussion. Kids who prefer the outdoors will enjoy a nature walk or hike. You can bring along a field guide to identify flora and fauna. These trips may not pack the thrill of a water park, but they’re fun in an entirely different way.
FAITH W.
Faith W. fromWashington Court House had a 10th-grade education and additional training from a business college and in cosmetology. She worked as a keypunch operator, hairdresser, factory assembler, and prep-cook. She fell at work, first hitting her back on a metal rack and then falling onto a cement floor, tailbone first. In addition to a fractured coccyx, she injured her back and ankle. She developed gastritis from her pain medication and low- grade depression. What makes her case particularly noteworthy is how she came to be declared permanently and totally disabled under her claim. She continued to work on and off for many years until her condition worsened significantly. She went through months of rehabilitation efforts, including vocational retraining. Having worked a variety of jobs beginning at a young age, Faith was always open to trying something new. When the BWC vocational experts concluded she was unemployable, we applied for permanent total disability. As proof that the Industrial Commission (IC) is not bound by decisions of the BWC, Faith’s application for PTD was denied, even though the vocational program had already concluded she was unemployable. We filed an action in Mandamus with the Franklin County Court of Appeals, asserting that the Industrial Commission’s decision contained a clear legal error: namely, the doctor who examined Faith for the IC failed to examine her on all the conditions allowed in her claim. (An “action in Mandamus”alleges that the
Industrial Commission abused the discretion it has to decide disputed issues. Essentially, we argued that the IC had no legitimate basis to rely upon a defective medical report from its own doctor to deny the PTD application.) The Ohio Attorney General’s office (which represents the BWC and the IC before the Ohio Courts of Appeal) agreed to have the court vacate the IC’s denial order and remand the case to the IC for a new hearing. With a new exam and a new hearing officer, we were successful in obtaining Faith’s PTD benefits and back pay. One lesson here is that sometimes “you gots to keep on keepin’on”to win your case — and that the IC sometimes has to be ordered to follow its own rules.
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