Keeping my kids busy in the summer

Yes I am one of those 'mean' moms who makes her kids do homework in the summer. I have always heard the schools say to READ, READ, READ over the summer, but what about math? What about spelling and writing? When I used to be a teacher, I was chair of the math committee one year and implemented a summer math program to run alongside the summer reading program. Each grade level made up packets that reviewed the key objectives from that year. I am now a private math tutor, and I highly recommend that all kids study through the summer months. They should review what they learned last year and preview what they will learn next year. When school starts they can hit the ground running, and teachers don't lose precious weeks reviewing and reviewing because kids forgot what they learned last year. Every June, I go to the teacher store and buy "Summer Bridge" workbooks for my kids that span all subjects from one grade level to the next. My kids have to work for atleast an hour a day Monday through Friday in their books before they can watch TV or play Wii. The summer bridge workbooks stop after 8th grade. My teenager, who is a rising junior, works on PSAT instead. After all, knowledge is power, and after working for an hour or so a day they are free to do whatever they want and play around and/or be lazy for the rest of the long summer days. It's good for them. Knowledge is power!