Our family’s official school year is drawing to a close. As we wrap things up, I usually will sit down to plan our summer schedule. I think that summer learning is beneficial as it helps to not lose critical skills over the summer months. But . . . that doesn’t mean our schedule isn’t more relaxed and it certainly doesn’t mean that our family isn’t having fun. Here’s what I do to plan out our summer learning.
First, I determine what subjects I still want to teach, no matter what time of the year it is. Those subjects usually are Bible, Math, and Reading/Literature. Then I look at any other subjects I may want to reinforce or catch up on–usually Language Arts related–whiIe we take a break from formal History or Science instruction. Sometimes, we will add in a subject of interest to the child. For example, last summer my oldest daughters wanted to learn Japanese, so we began studying with an online resource. Well, and it hasn’t stopped yet, because one of my daughters has continued her study of Japanese for an entire year. She’s still going strong with it and regularly updates me on her progress and new words and phrases she’s learned.
After narrowing down my subject list, I determine how often I want to instruct the kids each week, and how long instruction will last each day. Usually we do two to three days per week and leave the other days for fun projects and field trips which brings me to my next point.
The kids and I usually get together and think of all the things we would like to do in the summer: places we would like to go, projects we want to complete, recipes we want to make, new adventures we want to try, even things we may want to watch on TV or at the movies. They will request some of the regulars, like going to the library. Other times, they will request things like going to China over the weekend! (This is part of the fun of having a wide range of ages!!) Any way, this list is pretty much our family’s summer bucket list. So, on the days that we’re not in formal instruction, we will go to our bucket list and decide what we want to do for that day.
This allows us to have some fun, carefree, more spontaneous days, while not forgetting Scripture memory or math facts. It gives me time to plan for the upcoming school year and to focus on some of my own interests, like my own summer reading list, sewing/crocheting projects, and maybe a little gardening.
Homeschooling in the summer doesn’t have to be drudgery or super complicated. If you’re considering it as a way to keep skills fresh, go for it. Keep in simple, keep light, keep it fun!!
