Ahhhh (sigh) Summer has arrived at last! I’m not sure where you are reading this from, but here in Michigan summer is a short, coveted time of the year. The sunny, warm days are second to none in this beautiful state, however, they are also very few. With that being said, I can’t bring my self to have anything beyond a relaxed routine during summer.
However, at the very same time, I hate to see all our hard work throughout the school year to be lost in the sporadic days of summer. The long division took a long time to hammer down and the little guy is just finally writing his b’s and d’s the right way! We can’t possibly go three whole months without picking up a pencil or doing a math problem, right?! But these kids definitely need a break and so does mom!
So what is the solution?
Well, fellow momma, there is no perfect answer when it comes to stuff like this. I never want to come across that way in my message. Homeschooling looks different for each individual family and each individual child. I know lots of families that school all year and also some that don’t do a thing school related all summer and both find success. So with that being said, I don’t have the perfect solution, but I will share the solution that is working for us this year and some steps that will help you establish a relaxed summer routine for you and your children as well!
Tip 1: Figure out the priorities for your family this summer
What is most important to YOU, may not be what is most important to ME. So the first thing you need to do is figure out what your priorities are for the short summer months.
I’ll share my priorities with you so you can get an idea of what I mean. Sometimes it helps to jot down what comes to your head first and then number them from most important to least important later.
- Grow relationship with Jesus through Quiet Time (here is the journal we use to help guide that)
- Enjoy sunny days and be outside when possible!
- Make lots of family memories
- Continue to improve handwriting
- Improve/maintain reading skills from the previous year
- Maintain math skills (if time allows)
Notice my first three priorities have nothing to do with school. And they are what tops my list! I will touch on this later and how I reflect these priorities in my day-to-day.
Tip 2: Less is More
If your goals do consist of educational goals…. stick with the mindset, less is more.
Yes, I do have educational goals for the kiddos throughout the summer, as I mentioned above, I don’t want to see our progress completely lost over the summer (though some loss is inevitable if I am committing to enjoying summer… which I am)!
However, I have adopted the principle that less is more. By that, I simply mean that whatever “school” I assign them to do over the summer should be able to be completed in 1 hour or less each day. Here is what I ask the kids to do each day for school (only on days that allow it):
- 1 page of sibling journal or phonics OR write a letter to a friend (5-10 minutes)
- Mondays ONLY: practice memory verses from the previous year (10 minutes)
- Silent Reading. They can read any book of their choice for 15 minutes. I am offering my kids a reward if they can each read 12 chapter books this summer! My own little summer reading challenge that I borrowed from my sister. PLUS I use this time to also squeeze in some reading of my own. Today the three of us cuddled up on the front porch and read together. Sun shining, birds chirping, that doesn’t even really count as “school”.
- 1 page of math (if we have time… I don’t push this. Just one side of the page, not front and back) (10-15 min)
One other thing that I have them do daily is Quiet Time with Lord. I don’t make this part of their school, because ultimately I want them to see it as part of their life. It is simple. When they wake in the morning, I am often still finishing My Quiet Time and they simply grab their Bibles and join me, reading silently to themselves. It has become part of their routine like brushing their teeth or eating breakfast. Fueling our soul should be the same way.
(Have a youngster who can’t yet read? Encourage that child to grab their illustrated storybook Bible flip through that. Here is one of my favorites.)
Tip 3: Be willing to break routine and be spontaneous
I can’t stress this one enough! As a matter of fact maybe this should have been tip #1!
Ya’all (I don’t actually use that word… but I wish people did in Michigan, it’s so convenient)… You guys, the absolute best memories are made when we are able to let go of routine and do that thing. While we can’t always do this throughout the school year, because well… we have to do school; we MUST take advantage of the ability to be spontaneous in the summer months.
By spontaneous, I don’t necessarily mean that we have to drop everything and spend lots of money making a memory… I am referring to the fun spontaneous things that we can only do in summer. Take advantage of them! Like super hot days when it’s okay to have a water gun fight. Or that perfectly warm, windy day that makes flying a kite a breeze (we just did this). How about getting the kids bathed and in their jammies and then announcing that you will be doing a PJ run to the ice cream shop!
Those are memories they don’t forget and will forever be cherished! We actually got serious about filling our summer with family memories and made a list of 50 Ways to Have Fun this Summer. It really is helping us to be intentional in our memory making, we already have quite a few checked off!
If nothing else, remember this…
This season that we have with our kids is so very short. Yes, as a homeschool mom, we are taking on the responsibility of educating them. However, if we get too caught up in the educating, we forget about the opportunity we have to make memories and build relationships with them that will last a lifetime.
I love the Smiling Homeschooler Podcast hosted by Todd Wilson and his adult son Ben Wilson (if you haven’t listened to it, add it to your list. Here are other podcasts I love too!). Anyway when they get talking on the podcast, sometimes Todd will ask his son about some of his favorite memories of childhood. While Ben seems grateful for his education, his favorite memories never seem to consist of the extra math his mom might have made him do to master long division. It always seems to be the experiences they had as a family.
Routine is good. It keeps us disciplined. However, let’s make memory making the priority! Happy Summer!
Comment below, what is something you are doing as a family this summer?
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