What do Michigan teachers do during the summer? A little bit of everything.

It’s not just students who look forward to summer — educators get a break, too. So what do teachers do when the classrooms are empty?

Turns out, they do a bit of everything. From well-earned relaxation to earning new degrees to traveling the globe, here's how some Michigan educators are spending their summer:

Activities and hobbies

Jody Becker, a teacher at Holland Woods Middle School in Port Huron, uses the summer to travel with family, play soccer and gets back into her hobbies, like playing piano and gardening.

“That’s a hobby I picked up as an adult,” Becker said. “I didn’t learn how to play an instrument as a kid, so I learned now.”

Cathy Murray, president of the Port Huron Education Association and teacher at Port Huron Northern High School said her summer plans consist of painting, spending time with her children and completing projects she didn’t have time for during the school year.

Murray said it resonated with her when someone said parents only get 18 summers with their children.

“I have a 6-year-old, so I’ve already wasted six of those,” she said. “I realized that I need to make the most of it.”

Travel

Some teachers opt to spend the summer traveling. Anna Weighmink, a second grade teacher at New Groningen Elementary in Zeeland, is heading to Cambodia this July to help teach other teachers.

She's part of a group of seven educators going to work at One 17 International’s New Hope School, where students are taught English through reading, writing and mathematics. Weighmink got involved to bring resources to others who share her passion.

“Being a teacher is my favorite thing to do,” she said. “I love being able to have summers off to continue to use that gift as a teacher (by) going to Cambodia."

Third grade teacher Joy Kooyer from Holland Public Schools’ West Elementary is traveling with family on a quest to visit every U.S. state capitol building, in addition to MLB parks, national parks, monuments and historic sites.

“We’re kind of history nerds,” Kooyer said.

This summer, they’ve visited Madison, Wisconsin, and St. Paul, Minnesota — catching a Twins game in the process — plus Bismarck, North Dakota, and several national parks. They’re currently in Denver, bringing their capitol building and MLB lists within one of being completed.

The last capitol building on the list is in Raleigh, North Carolina. Kooyer, who is from South Carolina, said they hope to check Raleigh off the list this holiday season.

“We’ve gone through North Carolina umpteen times, it’s just amazing we haven’t hit the capitol,” she said. San Francisco’s Oracle Park is their last MLB stadium to visit.

“I just love doing this, collecting books along the way, learning more about the states to share with our students when we get back and encouraging them to see the world,” Kooyer said.

Kooyer also promotes the “Every Kid Outdoors Program," which provides fourth-graders free access to national parks.

Professional development

School might be out for summer, but learning doesn't stop. Many teachers stick around to run summer school, others work on curriculum, and still more work on their own professional development.

Dayna DesJardins of Port Huron Northern High School is one of them. She's teaching an online class through Michigan Virtual and attending a training for AP course instruction, which isn't typical for her in the summer.

She's also working on a master’s degree online.

“It’s one class a week for 18 months straight,” DesJardins said. “It was interesting to balance it during the school year and I’m looking forward to that being one of the only responsibilities on my plate.”

Becker is also doing some professional development. She said she’ll be taking a course through Michigan Virtual to learn how to better teach students with autism as a special education teacher.

Other jobs

Plenty of educators work a second job in the summer, including Holland’s Ryan Harrell, who serves as waterfront director at Adirondack Camp in Upstate New York, a role he’s held since 2007.

“Obviously by my choice of profession, I enjoy working with young people,” Harrell said. “This is a chance to do that in a different environment than the school setting. For me, I can combine my love of the water, boats, all things related to life on the water, with working with young people. I see amazing growth in the campers as people.”

WORLD'S BEST WATERFRONT CAMP - Adirondack Camp on Lake George from Adirondack Camp on Vimeo.

Harrell spends the entire summer at camp with his wife and five kids. He said they typically leave for New York within five days of school getting out and return the day before he reports back to work.

Harrell, a former classroom teacher and current instructional coach for HPS, said he’s even recruited several Holland students and teachers to serve as counselors at the camp.

Family time

Another teacher in West Michigan is using the summer break to spend time with family — and promote the teaching profession in the process.

Jeff Carlson, a social studies teacher and basketball coach at Zeeland East High School, takes to social media to highlight his reasons for being a teacher all summer long. He posts daily on Instagram, showing things he’s doing that wouldn’t be possible during the school year.

“I’ll post (for example) ‘reason number 70 for being an educator in the summer…’ then post a picture or two of what me and my family are doing that day,” Carlson said. “It’s usually something that, during the normal school year, we wouldn't be able to do.”

Carlson said he hopes the posts show off one major benefit of being a teacher — having time to spend with family.

“It’s a huge benefit for teachers that have families to have 2.5-3 months to spend with your kids and family,” he said. “Even those that don’t, just to be on your own and those things you want to do.”

Carlson also uses the series as a means to speak to students about social media.

“I always preach to the students, social media can cause of a lot of problems,” he said. “But there’s a lot of good that it can do if you use it the right way. I tell them I hardly ever use it, except for this series during the summer.”

— Contact reporter McKenna Golat at mgolat@thetimesherald.com. Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: What do teachers do during the summer? A little bit of everything.