Summer Activities for Secular, Atheist Families

Study an Atheist Philosopher (Or Two)

Studying the ideas of an atheist philosopher provides a surprising number of benefits. The most obvious are of course learning more about the history of atheism and some of the principle arguments against religion or theism. Additional benefits include learning more about course the history of philosophy itself, learning about specific philosophical fields (metaphysics, epistemology, ethics), practicing critical thinking by examining the arguments in a skeptical light, and even general history by looking at the philosopher’s circumstances and cultural influences. If you do two, you can learn even more by comparing and contrasting their ideas. Ideally, both kids and adults will be able to learn side-by-side here.

Do a Joint Science Project

Science is a hands-on field and there is no better way to both learn science and learn to love science than hands-on science projects. Simply reading about science in books doesn’t come anywhere close and as funds for science education in schools dwindle, there will be more book-learning and less lab work. You can make up for this by doing a science project that illuminates something important about our world and preferably a project connected to other events going on in the world, thus emphasizing the practical applications of knowledge acquired through the scientific process. An ideal science project is one where the child does enough work to learn, but where adults can participate.

Visit a National or State Park

There are so many national and state parks that you couldn’t possibly visit them all, but they all have something to offer. A trip to at least one park over the course of the summer will therefore be a family vacation that’s not just fun, but also educational. National parks provide the sort of exposure to nature which too few kids have access to under normal circumstances: they'll see trees, plants, animals, and/or geologic formations that they would normally only see in books. Some parks provide exposure to American history that will do more than any book can. Seeing and experiencing such things in person can have a great impact, reinforcing the importance of understanding the natural world around us and/or our own history.

Do a Backyard Nature Study

Combine some of the benefits of both a science project and a visit to a national park by studying the nature just outside your backdoor. Do you know how much plant and animal diversity is in your backyard? Most people haven’t clue about the ecosystem they are closest to but it isn’t that hard to learn. Both kids and parents can learn how to do a scientific study, how interdependent everything in nature is — even in such a small area — and learn so much more about the place you live. There is even evidence that working in the dirt decreases depression and anxiety while stimulating the ability to learn. What more could you want?

Study a Paranormal Belief

Skepticism is best taught with concrete examples rather than in the abstract and there is probably no more fertile ground of ideas that deserve greater skepticism than the paranormal. There’s also no end of paranormal subjects to study so you can do this multiple times and should always be able to find something interesting. Sometimes this might be combined with a science project (test people for psychic powers) or a trip to a national park (look for Bigfoot in the northwest forests). This study should also involve looking at how people form beliefs, why certain beliefs persist, how to apply skeptical inquiry to claims of any sort, and so forth.

Study a Political Movement

Because politics suffuses every aspect of society, understanding politics and political movements is critical for understanding a society’s past and present. Studying a political movement should not just be about the specific political arguments but also the associated art and propaganda, the roles played by demographics and religion, and of course major figures. Singling out a single political movement for close scrutiny can provide a much greater understanding of the era’s culture and how it helped produce the world around us today. It will also help reveal the degree of continuity between political movements of the past and those of the present. This is definitely something both the adults and the children can benefit a lot from.

Study a Religion

There is no better foundation for religious skepticism than knowledge of religion — in particular, knowledge of many different religions. If you want to encourage religious skepticism in your kids, you need to promote greater knowledge of religions. This will also help kids be more understanding of religious differences. Pick a religion, any religion, and do a long-term study of it: history, beliefs, influences on it, its influences on others, major figures, etc. It can be a religion that is currently popular (like Hinduism) or a religion that's mostly fallen away (ancient Greek polytheism). If you can visit an active worship community, do so. Interviewing a current believer or even religious leader would be great.

Visit Every Local Museum and Zoo

This might be a bit ambitious, especially if you are doing many other projects, but every museum has something to offer and it’s likely that there are few museums in your area that you haven’t visited yet. This will provide a nice diversity of experiences: art, history, science, and more. Increased familiarity with local museums means increased familiarity with the local resources available to you when you next study any of these subjects. Every museum should have lots of things to spark deeper conversations: the nature of art, world history, natural history and evolution, the development of our planet, etc.

Do Something that Scares You

This might seem out of place on a list of otherwise intellectual and academic activities, but that’s what makes this one of the most important ideas. First, it’s critical to remember that not everything in life needs to be intellectual. Second, it’s even more critical to learn how to step outside of the comfort zones we create and not grow too accustomed to everything being easy or familiar. You don’t want to be reckless with life and limb, but you do want to take risks. Bungee jumping and white water rafting are obvious ideas, but less obvious things can be just as scary: give a public lecture, tell someone a secret that's been bothering you, ask someone a question that's been bothering you, etc. Parents should definitely be active participants here, leading by example.

Write/Blog About Your Activities

You don’t want to force kids to take tests on their summer activities, but you also don’t need to. A great way for anyone to both reinforce what they’ve learned as well as figure out how much they really learned is to simply write about one's experiences. A blog is a great way to create a nice presentation of text, images, and even video — a record of the summer activities that you all can be proud of. Don’t just stick to factual reporting, though. The blog or written record should also include thoughts and opinions about one's initial expectations, about what actually happened, and finally in retrospect after it’s all finished. This should primarily be an activity for the kids, but one way to incorporate the adults is for the kids to interview their parents about what they thought and learned.