text: Giving students the opportunity for self-guided learning allows them to exercise their creativity in ways they typically can't during the school year and learn new skills. Students typically have more spare time during the summer, so a student willing to take on a large-scale project would have the time and energy to do so. For example, many students who compete in science fairs at the high school level often begin experimentation before the start of the school year. Working on a science fair project as a summer project could produce extraordinary results. A student with less academic interests could spend their summer learning a new skill, like how to cook. Either way, students would return to school having had valuable experiences.