To get in the school mood (ha ha), why not visit a schoolhouse museum? You can find historic schoolhouses converted into education centers all over the country. Here’s a sample -

Schoolhouse Children’s Museum, Boynton Beach, Florida - We were fortunate enough to live five minutes away from this fully restored schoolhouse museum, located in South Florida. A gem of a hands-on museum for kids as young as two, step back in time and learn about the area’s history through photos, dress up, pretend farming (the ‘milking’ cow is a fav), and an old-time Post Office and General Store, among others. Their calendar is always packed with activities, including story and music times, scavengers hunts, ice cream making, and sidewalk art classes, to name a few.

Discovery Creek Children’s Museum of Washington, DC, also has an amazing array of activities for kids of all ages. Located among four sites, including a stable, botanical, and aquatic gardens, the Historic Schoolhouse includes “12 acres of beautiful majestic hardwood forest, hiking trails, natural rock outcroppings, and a meandering creek.” Seasonal classes about insect lifecycles, natural animal habitats, and more take place both inside the schoolhouse and in nature.

Seneca Schoolhouse Museum, Seneca, Maryland - Located in Seneca National Park in Montgomery County (close to DC and Virginia), the Schoolhouse is open during the school year for “back in time” local history day trips with a costumed teacher. Also available for birthday parties - way cooler than Chuck E. Cheese, if you ask me!

To look for a children’s museum in your area, or if you’re going on vacation, check out the website for the Association of Children’s Museums. There’s still a couple of weeks left before school, and this site might give you that last idea push to keep busy!