Summer Homeschooling Tips
When one hears the words Summer and schooling, it usually brings to mind images of children bored out of their minds, stuck in stuffy drab classrooms, staring longingly out the window because they'd much rather be playing outside.
If you're thinking of homeschooling year-round, those images do NOT have to be your child! Homeschooling over the Summer can be easy, breezy, and fun by keeping a few simple tips in mind:
Keep it Simple
Summer is not the time to try and pack your days with back-to-back lessons or classes. There's just too much awesome weather and adventures to be had for that much structure.
Instead, aim for a lighter learning schedule when it comes to formal learning. Choose only 1 or 2 formal subjects to stick to regularly. You can even restrict formal learning to only 1 portion of the day (two hours in the morning, right after breakfast for example) or only 1 or 2 days/ week so the majority of your child's time can be spent adventuring, exploring and having fun.
Keep it Interest-Based
One of the easiest ways to enjoy Summer learning is to keep it firmly rooted in your children's interests and passions. Learning doesn't just happen within the pages of your formal curriculum workbook. It can happen through your child trying out a new hobby craft, or them trying to level up in their favorite video game, or through wanting to bake the perfect pizza, or while finally learning how to swim.
Whatever your child's interests are, Summer is a great time to let them dive deep and watch the learning unfold itself.
Learn While Living
If you have big plans this Summer such as overnight stays, road trips, international travel, extended stays with family, or the like, remember that this is alllllll learning waiting to happen! Sure, it may not come out of a book, but it comes from one of the best teachers out there: LIFE. And to be honest, text books can rarely produce better absorption of material or information than an actual first-hand, multisensory experience can.
Family stays are full of history, culture, and social-emotional lessons.
Road trips can take in geography, history, arts, and more!
International travels opens the mind and heart to worlds, peoples, and perspectives never known or considered before.
And it doesn't mean you have to turn every family outing into an assignment or activity. Just be present, pay attention, allow your children to take reasonable risks and explore new things, go with the flow, and then talk about it casually while you're hanging out together. If they're living life, learning WILL happen. All you have to do is let it.