Wendy Letavic loves the summer. She loves spending the time with her family sleeping in late and just relaxing by the pool. Letavic is mom to 14-year-old Quin and 12-year-old Ally.

She relishes her summer times with them and her husband, Paul. It's a time she looks forward to all school year. They vacation together and try new fun activities together. Letavic sees that with each passing year she has to "switch it up" with her kids. And though it can be a challenge to regroup as a family after a busy school year, Letavic tries different things for them to do together to keep them all involved as a family.

Letavic certainly does deserve a relaxing summer season. During the school year she teaches English as a second language to teenagers at Penn Manor High School. These teens come from as far away as China, Thailand, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Russia and Mexico.

Because most of her students are new to this area, Letavic sees her role as much more than just their teacher. She sees her classroom as a second family to most of her students.

Letavic gives her all to her students during the school year. She admits to being attached to them and works very hard to make them comfortable here in their new home. She says that often she feels like a second mother to them. When she walks into school she changes from being the mom at home to the mom in the classroom.

"I'm the one person these kids are most comfortable with. We talk about crazy things. They want to be hip and they want to be ‘Americanized.'" But Letavic encourages them to hold on to their culture while they are assimilating to American life.

Letavic always wanted to be a teacher and she always wanted to be a parent. She also always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. After she had her second baby that was what she did until her children went to school.

But even though Letavic works during the school year, she doesn't shut down her mom role and shift into teacher mode ... she is still mom. And that means she is actively involved in her children's schools. Letavic enjoys seeing how other schools do things and she volunteers whenever she can.

"It's fascinating," she said. "I really love that." She also tries to find time to be with each of her children individually. That might mean a mani/pedi for her and Ally or a "date" night with son, Quin.

But for Letavic, summertime isn't the only way she recharges her batteries. She also gets a lot of relaxation out of cooking and baking throughout the year. She says, "It's my ‘therapy' and it's less expensive than retail therapy!" Letavic comes from a Polish background and her husband, Paul is Slavic. She loves making recipes from those cultures.

"My fondest memories," said Letavic, "is of my grandmother's cooking."

Letavic especially enjoys surprising people with food. When someone tells her they like a special dish or have a special memory of a specific food, Letavic likes to try to make it for them.

"I just like to help people remember a memory," she said. But in addition, Letavic said that the act of cooking also helps her. "It's a great stress reliever for me," she said. "It's how I could spend an afternoon." And Letavic also said that if she ever has trouble sleeping, she will often spend time in the middle of the night cooking.

Cooking is also a fun thing to do with her children and husband. During the Christmas season, the Letavics will make about 80 pounds of candy to give away. "It's a neat family activity," said Letavic. Their specialty is chocolate-covered peanut butter balls.

So if you see Letavic relaxing by the pool on a hot summer's day, you'll understand why she is exhausted by the end of the school year. "I run crazy all year ... but the summer is very special," she said. "It's my time to be with my family. We are used to being apart all school day. So what do we do all summer? Nothing. It's important to not be so scheduled."

FAST FACTS ABOUT WENDY LETAVIC 

The Letavics enjoy going out to eat at the tapas restaurant at El Serrano. 

The family has recently started golfing together, "It's a nice family activity."

Letavic enjoys reading Christian fiction, especially by author Karen Kingsbury. She also enjoys works by author Kristin Hannah. "It's very inspiring."

Letavic will usually have her Kindle by the pool.

Letavic enjoys exercising first thing in the morning. "It's a refreshing way to start the day."

She and her husband Paul started dating right after high school. It was a long distance relationship with the couple being four hours apart. She has saved every card and letter from him and feels a little sad that kids today don't have that. "You can't save texts," she said.

Letavic likes to try new things. "Everything is a learning experience ... even if you learn that it is something you never want to do again."

By Maureen Leader, Special Features Writer