For homeschoolers, life is our daily classroom. We look at nearly everything as an educational opportunity. Once you’re in that educational mode, it’s hard to turn it off, even for something as anticipated as summer break!
If you are not on a year-round schedule for home education, your summer possibilities are definitely worth considering. Are you making plans, or are you simply desperate for a break from tests and testiness? I know the feeling. I also know the rewards of planning for summer to make the most of that time.
First of all, if you were unable to devote enough time to a certain subject during the school year, summer is a great time to catch up. Spending a little time each day, or a concentrated amount of time for a few weeks, on that one subject can be rewarding. For instance, science--with all its projects and experiments--is easy to put off when you have math, language arts, history, and Bible to cover. Summer is a great time to focus on science! You can have fun with it! In addition, if there are any science day camps in your area, you can use those for fun and education. My son and daughter have learned a lot from a local science center, and they look forward to going there each summer. They get to spend four days working on a colonial farm and learn about early American farm life. Other classes include dissection, fossil studies, weather studies, rocketry, and more. This summer they are also signed up for 4H Pontoon Camp. They will study water life under a microscope, and they will get to fish and go canoeing - a full 30 hours worth of learning packed into one week! An added bonus is the time I get for myself. A can work on special projects, relax with a good book, or even take a nap in peace. While they are having fun with new learning adventures, I’m "recharging my batteries."
Another fun way to continue learning through the summer is to designate certain weeks for a specific topic. Ideally, it would be a topic that excites your child. In the past, we have had Dinosaur Week, Airplane Week, Geography Week, and Cooking Week. Someone asked if I was doing unit studies. I guess you could think of it that way, but I use a more relaxed approach. For instance, the week we devoted to dinosaurs included reading books about them, putting a cardboard skeleton of one together, and playing a dinosaur game on the computer. I think we made models out of dough as well. For Geography Week we played different geography games that we own. For cooking class, we looked through children’s cookbooks and made lunches and snacks. We didn’t spend large amounts of time each day on the topic, but just enough time to feel like we had accomplished something and enjoyed quality time together without being rushed.
Have you seen those devotional books for families with children? They include fun activities that help impress godly values and characteristics on your children. If you have felt rushed during the school year and have presented the Bible as one more subject to study, summer could be the time you spend more time focusing on spiritual lessons. You can take time with each topic and be more relaxed. You can enjoy your time together as a family while sharing God’s goodness!
Let me warn you, however; if you don’t plan ahead and mark your calendar, summer will slip by without any of your good intentions bearing fruit. I’ve entered the summer season with ideas that never made it to my daily planner, and before I knew it, I was gearing up for fall without ever acting on any of those plans. There is nothing as sad as lost opportunity. I encourage you to plan something special for summer. It can be as simple as Game Week or Game Fridays. It could be a weekly Park Day. Maybe you want to focus on a hobby such as photography or carpentry. Get your child’s input and plan for some good ol’ summer fun--homeschool style!
