A No Fail Guide to Your First Summer Homeschooling

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Dear NEW homeschooler, are you wondering how you are going to get through this summer vacation now that you are ALL home for the first time. You just got your routine down and WHAM, summer! The shift can have you wondering if you have made a huge mistake. You are not alone and it isn’t only new homeschool families that are affected. Summer is hard for experienced homeschoolers as well. We’ve been homeschooling for years and we just discussed jumping back into our school schedule if summer attitudes don’t get better.

If you are wondering HOW in the world you are going to manage to reduce screen time or if the only reading your kids is going to do is in their video games, the concern is real. But summer is not at all something to dread.

Summer: Time to ReEvaluate, Regroup and Plan

Summer is a good time to evaluate your previous year and prepare for the new school year. You can create a game plan now, so you don’t repeat the same missteps you made last year. Give yourself some space to reflect this month.

We have learned to thrive in summer and make it one of our more productive homeschool growth seasons. I always take courses for myself in the summer months. I work on my own writing projects in summer. My goal is to write a bulk of my end of the year blog posts in the summer. Summer schedules can help you get your work done.

The kids are still here and need all the things, so how do we find a happy middle ground in the summer months?

– every NEW homeschool parent right now!

Create a Structured, Summer Learning Plan

School might be over, but as a homeschool mom, we know learning never ends. The best thing about summer is that learning can be way more exploratory, self directed and less structured. This means kids can do more on their own.

Let’s face it, getting through your FIRST year homeschooling is hard work. No one wants to skip the break you need because the kids need help for an activity that I hoisted upon them when I was more energetic. Don’t over structure your first summer.

Instead, use this perfect time to create a LIGHTER summer learning plan that give the family enough structure but still frees you up to reboot and get some fresh perspective on your homeschool plan for next year.

Here are a few was I’ve handled the summer time in the past…

Summer Homeschool Help in Your Schedule

Look at your life and the things you need to accomplish this summer. Include your personal work schedule. What are packets where the kids need down time AND you need quite?

We had quiet reading hour for most of our kids lives. Because we homeschool I choose to be in the presence of my children 24 hours a day 7 days a week for years! I am no saint, this mama needs some down time. Without regular breaks and pockets of peace, this is a crazy commitment. Quiet reading hour helped me get the quiet time I needed to recharge during the day.

Create an established expectation

As soon as the little ones went down for naps and the older kids were FOB; (flat on backs) a beautiful term I learned from YMCA camp. They know how to help young counselors survive ten campers, so why not use this idea for first year homeschooling moms too. The children know that for an hour they needed to be quiet. They could read, sleep and do whatever was quite for that time. Find a great book series like The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls or classics like Little House on the Prairie.

We tried allowing LEGOs, but seriously, have you ever listened to a kids sift through a bucket of LEGOs for and hour? It a slow and tedious death I wish on no quiet hour.

Schedule time for your work

You can schedule your Zoom calls over this hour as soon as the kids are used to it. You might be asking if you can really get your kids to do it. I had a parent come over to pick up their child during this hour once and they were amazed at the silence in a house with ten kids. They asked me how I got all the kids to nap at the same time. I told them, honestly, it was my highest priority of the day. That is why it got done.

If you are higher energy and want to pack the kids out and be on the go several days a week, plan for early bedtimes and get those kids good and tired. Savor a few hours of quiet to recharge in the evening. I get up extra early to do my work and let the kids sleep late.

The point is, find the schedule that is already working in you life and maximize it. Keep shifting and fine tuning until you are feeling like everyone in the house knows what to expect for the day. This will help end the chaotic feeling summer can lead to.

Summer Homeschool Ideas

You can try a “Homeschool Light” version if you like. Introduce a few pages from a workbook like this one on Lady Bugs or a new Topic of the Week. Educational poster from the local teaching supply are cheap and lead to great conversations. Follow your kids lead too. Was there a topic that they were excited about this school year? Capitalize on their enthusiasm this summer.

You can also capture the NEED for screens and use it to your advantage. There are plenty of online teaching programs, like Reading Kingdom, that offer Math, Reading and Spelling Lessons all in one place with game based learning. Kids often “win” play time on a short internal game. Often these programs seemed like a treat to my kids because they feel like a video game. We have used a handful of online learning tools over the years for many different skills.

Life Skills

Summer is a great time to work on life skills. Look up a list of age appropriate life skills online and see if there are a few basic skills that you can cover this summer. Many can be learned in household chores, crafting, building a fort, painting an outside project. Get creative about how they can gain new skills. Let the kids give you input for summer break projects they might want to complete with their free time.

Make cooking a priority. Do it younger than you think. One of the greatest blessing as I have transitioned to a working mom, is the fact that one of my older children likes cooking and knows how to make quite a few meals. She has helped me reach my personal goals and has a skill that will serve her in life.

Independent Learning

If you child is reading independently, they can take off on their own learning adventure. Head to the library and gather up a few books that cover their interest. I’ve created several independent unit studies for my kids as they developed a passion for a topic. It is easy to create a unit study of you own. We have covered Math, Pirates, Greek Myths and more short sessions lasting a few weeks. I created a Government & Economics unit when could not find one to fit the age range I was teaching. My Homeschooler’s Guide to Summer Success Course includes a full guided video lesson on creating a unit study from scratch and how it can help save time in your homeschool.

Letting the kids lead and keeping the time frame short help keep interest high for the duration of the study. I don’t grade these. They are just an exploration. We hope to spark an interest or give a taste of a topic that is coming up. Or like with Greek Myths, I wanted to share a topic I love with my kids.

Creative Writing

Creative writing takes a great deal of time and focus. Can I make a confession? During the school year, when we have ALL of the subjects going, I find it really hard to do a good job on correcting or even keeping up on creative writing assignments. Summer is a great time to make a fun writing project.

Have the kids create a comic book, write a short story or create a poem a day before they can use the screens. Be creative. We looked up creative writing prompts online. I love TeachersPayTeachers as a printable resource. My oldest son loved the BINGO styled prompts. When it came down to why he hated writing as a subject we concluded he did not like choosing what to write. Prompts helped eliminate this issue and he could choose to do the ones that interested him first. NOT having to fill out the whole page (just getting a BINGO) felt like win.

We have been using such things as the My Year of Writing Journal in our homeschool this year to win the creative battle. The kids like the fact that the spaces are smaller, the prompts are fun, clear and sometimes silly. You can read the whole post about How to Make Creative Writing Fun in Your Homeschool. Timberdoodle also carries a Draw Every Day book as well.

Year Round Schooling

Our first summer was a great break…for about three weeks. Without a weekly schedule the kids were going off the rails. We went from highly structured with our core curriculum to total freedom. Mostly because it sounded like the best option with a newborn, a 2 year old, a 3 year old, a preschooler, and a child in 1st grade and 2nd grade: this mama was tired.

Instead of a three month long break, we ended up going back to our regular school year schedule. “Summer school” was filled with more free time than our regular school year. We buffered our summer schedule with more short breaks, a four day week and regular Friday field trips during the summer months.

A Few Longer Breaks

When school started back up after summer break, nothing changed for us. It was very peaceful for our large family to keep our routine and school all year long. If you choose to continue schooling year round. There are a few factors that you will need to know to determine your schedule. Check your state homeschooling laws to see how many days you need to record teaching and how those days need to be represented in your records to comply with state law.

In Iowa, I am required to school for a minimum of 148 calendar days in the school year. We school more days than that but we always show the recorded minimum to comply with state law. This is 30 roughly weeks of book work. Our kids grew up as Sonlight users (you can read my Sonlight articles) which use a 36 week schedule. We worked through the program as it was and logged our credits accordingly.

Extra Time for a Subject or Interest

You could look at this time as bonus school. When I started working away from home two days a week, I needed to make some changes to our schedule. I anticipated I would be working out of the home the year before, so we shifted to a four day school week. We also added online classes and continued with online math classes.

These moves helped streamline our schedule and free up more of my time, but getting core work for two grades of kids was still a challenge. I ended up taking the advice from the Timberdoodle Schedule and pulling quite a few elective materials and holding them back (without and guilt, it was suggested by the experts at Timberdoodle afterall) for the summer season.

This summer the kids can complete all the fun ELECTIVES that we didn’t have the time to focus on like we wanted to. Maybe you have a subject that keeps getting pushed off and doesn’t get the time it really deserves. Does your child has an interest that they really want to explore further, but the school year is full of “have-to-do” subjects that are a higher priority?

Summer is your chance to dive deep into interests and desires your child has expressed all year. My son has been sharing ukulele videos on youtube with his cousin all year long. For summer I ordered a Uke and paid for 6 months of Fender Play online lessons. It was under $200 for everything. Consider it a class and keep your receipts for tax season. You might be able to claim those expenses next April.

Summer Bucket List

Are you afraid that if you continue school you will miss all the fun of summer? Download and fill out this SUMMER FUN IDEAS bucket list. Ask the whole family for input. You can find more information about the full 30 page Homeschooler’s Guide to Summer Success included in the full course at InDueSeason.net.

Things to Create:

an overnight blanket fort, treehouse, fairy garden, reading nook or a better learning space for next year. Decide on what things you have the resources to do now and which will need some planning.

Things to Eat:

In Iowa this is easily the list of foods we want to try at the Iowa State Fair. Is there a people group you learned about in your homeschool year and now you want to try the food you have read so much about. A quick Google search will turn up the closest places to try, or the ingredients you need to purchase to make authentic dishes at home.

Places to Go:

Your first summer homeschooling will have you seeing trips in a while new “educational” light. We had a season (back when you could afford gas) where we drive to a small town in Iowa every Sunday afternoon. We visited the square, any local historical sites and ate in a local Mom & Pop Restaurant. The history lessons were widely varied. We’ve been to the birthplace of John Wayne and Mamie Eisenhower and to the birthplace of wrought iron lampstands (or something).

Think local and shop small. As independent restaurant owners, we loved supporting other small restaurateurs. The kids loved the sites and a new park every week. The places you go don’t have to be big ticket destinations.

We are not Disney Land people, if you are, limit big items list to one or two big event and challenge yourselves to think small events. Often when we focused on big goals or events, we missed enjoying the in-between times. These are where we live the most so use this summer to maximize your right now time!

Big Event:

Do you have a Wedding your family is traveling to? Maybe the big family reunion or your family vacation. Create anticipation and include these things as part of your summer adventures. You might HAVE to go to your sisters third wedding, but your family can have a great time if you create the event with your family in mind.

Avoid Summer Slide

Year round schooling insures that your kids won’t experience the 30% loss of learning that typically happens over a long summer break. If you stick with the year round homeschooling for a few years you will find that you can skip the first few chapters of any text book with a quick overview. Most of these are created with summer losses in learning in mind and the first chapters are full of review. Your students can always skip straight to the test and test out of the chapter to fully skip it and get on with NEW material.

Allow More Free Play

If you do school year round, you can confidently allow for more free play during the week. We typically school from 10am-2pm with NO evening work. The kids enjoy their mornings to play and explore outside, take care of animals and complete chores. I use this time for my own office work.

With 22 weeks of NON-School time to distribute, we worked for three weeks and then followed with a week off. You can do six week and two weeks off if that is a better fit. This still leaves you with ten weeks of vacation and Holiday time to distribute into your calendar.

Educational Opportunities in Summer

There are plenty of activities to catch around your city this summer. You can look at FB events to find out what is going on around you. Here in Iowa, Homeschool Iowa members get an email update every two weeks with a calendar of events around the state. If it is your first summer homeschooling

Some more ideas at a glance

Head to a National Park

Plan a trip to the National Parks. They are in every state and often have plenty of done for you activities in Nature Centers and DNR Facilities. This is a great way to avoid burnout and keep the learning alive. The Jr. Ranger program is a great way to engage your kids while visiting the parks. They offer badges and certificates of completion for participating Jr. Rangers. I wish we had done this when the kids were younger, as we travel very little and missed adding this to our Colorado trips when the kids were all young.

Summer Classes

You local YMCA, University Extension Offices and 4-H offer a wide arrange of camps for kids to attend. Check their sites to discover what is being offered where you live.

Check the Science Centers, Children’s Museums and your local library for their summer kids programs. They are wonderful resources for homeschooling families. They work very hard to keep kids reading and learning all year long.

New Language

Now is a great time to add a foreign language to your child’s learning. Elementary years are a great time to add languages, but because they are not required until high school they are often overlooked. Younger children often learn languages very quickly and are adept at using technology tools to learn.

We have used Rosetta Stone, DuoLingo, and app called Chineasy, and free classes through our library’s portal. All of these need a computer and internet access. If you live in a larger population, you can find a language club or co-op classes for live teaching.

Board Games

Games are school. They teach so many life skills. we use board games, mini-games and even online games as a part of our school on a regular basis. There are game that cover the full range of topics that you cover in a school year. When we taught Government & Economics we used Cash Flow for Kids to solidify economic concepts the kids were learning.

Having a game station set up with a variety of homeschool tools for the kids to grab and take to their seat has helped make transition times smoother. I like MINI GAMES for a couple of reasons. First, I like that they are created for a single player, so there is no arguing about who has won while another child is trying to do long division. This also means that they get rotated through the kids, for some reason limited accessibility means it is more desirable. Secondly, most mini games have a broad age range for the challenges. My 13 year old enjoys them as much as our 8 year old. Games are smart, they teach thinking skills on the sly while it looks like kids having fun. I love that the kids think they are taking a break from learning but I know better.

Maximize Your First Summer Homeschooling

There is so much more for you to learn at the about how to maximize summer. Homeschool Summer Help is one click away! You can grab the Homeschooler’s Guide to Summer Success. The course includes three 40 minutes video lessons designed to help you maximize summer hours.

The Summer Success course will help your students gain independence. You will organize your own personal work and add learning activities in the summer months with electives and unit studies.

The 30 page workbook will help you implement every idea with guide pages to help you generate your own ideas. You also get the Summer Bucket list as a bonus. Have more fun and be intentional with you summer.