Embrace the Summer Vibes: Tips for Crafting an Engaging and Fun Homeschool Summertime Routine
Reading Time: 10 minutes Listen to the podcast version:
Keep the Learning Alive with a Fun-Filled Summertime Routine
As the weather heats up, it can be a challenge to create a homeschool summer routine.
The children are excited about summertime activities and a break from school.
You are worried about “summer slippage”.
You need to be able to intertwine fun and learning in a way that your children may not even notice the educational “bits.”
With these 7 creative strategies, you can build a routine that sparks curiosity, ignites imagination, and makes learning a natural part of your family’s summer rhythm.
1. Plan Ahead
While you want to prevent “summer slippage” and help your child grow educationally, your child is looking at the upcoming summer as a grand vacation.
I love those “natural” or impromptu learning moments.
Often those are the ones that are most memorable or impactful.
However, let’s face it, you are tired too, after a year of school.
If you don’t make a vacation purposeful, it probably will not happen.
The same is true of educational goals.
Planning is what holds a successful summer learning routine together.
Your summer vacation journey begins with scheduling “lessons,” setting a schedule, and organizing your needed materials.
2. Setting Goals
Education during the summer looks much different than it does during the traditional learning year.
However, it is still important for you to establish what you want your child to accomplish or work on this summer.
One of my favorite concepts for summertime learning is: “Leave and Learn.”
You can determine how many planned trips you want to make this summer.
What does “Leave and Learn” mean?
We will get into some of this in the next section, but if you want to leave the house once a week and go close by, what do you want your children to learn from this?
If you know your goals for the summer, and for each child it may differ, you will more easily be able to determine the reason for the “Leave and Learns,” where you should go, and what you want your child to get out of the visits.
Possible summer goals:
• Maintain current knowledge
If your main goal is to make sure you do not have to repeat information next year, that is a fine goal.
Many hope to simply prevent “summer slippage.”
• Read Regularly
Reading helps to build vocabulary, improves focus and concentration, and can improve analytical skills.
It also has wellbeing benefits; it is said to reduce stress and help bring calm (although this last one, I think strongly depends on what you are reading)!
You can help your child love to read with a special nook or a fun reading tracker to keep them engaged and accountable.
You can also form a summer book club for kids, this provides a social outlet and gives your child a reason to read!
Be sure to check out your local library because they will most likely have a reading challenge for all ages this summer as well.
• Create an outdoor story hunt.
Never heard of it?
I hadn’t either, but it sounds really cool!
Organize your backyard or a park with a scavenger hunt that has clues written on notecards.
This simply becomes an active adventure of reading!
Awww-they tricked us-but it would have been fun doing it, right?
• Write Regularly
Writing is great for boosting critical thinking and problem solving skills, it helps memory retention, and it encourages creativity and imagination.
These are all fabulous, but the reality is, your child must also show proficiency in writing in school.
• Writing prompts
If your child has difficulty knowing what to write, I suggest using writing prompts this summer.
Writing prompts are also much more fun and engaging.
They are also an informal type of writing.
• Another fun idea is to get your child a pen pal.
This can be a family member or a friend they already know that lives far enough away that they do not see them often.
The point is that instead of IM, FaceTime, PM, emailing, (although that would be more like writing), you will have your child actually spend time writing letters.
• DIY Story Kits allow your child to assemble their own personalized theater experience.
They can have props, costumes and backgrounds to show what they have written so that we can all enjoy it.
• Illustrate your writing.
Encourage your children to illustrate their stories or writings, encouraging them to write more.
• Isolate and Grow
Identify a subject or concept your child finds challenging and find different ways to learn this over the long break.
You may have been doing this with activity sheets designed specifically to target specific skills over the year.
If this did not work, see if you can find fun units that are not necessarily school related that your child will enjoy or go to places that reinforce these needed concepts so you can instead experience them.
An interactive, digital format of the book. Lesson plans for ages 4-12. A coloring book. An activity book. Get it here!
• Love the Unlovable
If your child really doesn’t like a certain subject in your traditional setting, however you teach it, see if there is a completely non-traditional way to either see it in action, experience its impact, or use it.
The national park passport books and visits to these are great for this.
In that article I cover lessons you can do in almost any subject.
• Challenge the Bored or Advanced
What is something your child finds super easy?
What is something that your child is “missing” simply because they find it so incredibly boring?
Find a way to allow your child to really go deep and make this topic/subject challenging and interesting.
*I love poetry.
I found a way to do a 4 week unit with 8th graders where even they loved poetry.
• Work on Being Human
Yeah, I know this is kind of odd.
I am also aware that the second I bring up Social Emotional Learning (SEL), many people think of things that it actually is not.
SEL is not a tool used to push any kind of political agenda.
Read the article.
It is only 5 things.
Self Awareness (identify your own emotions)
Self Management (regulate your own emotions and behaviors)
Social Awareness (demonstrate empathy and understanding)
Relationship Skills (practice teamwork and collaboration with all kinds)
Responsible Decision Making (identify, analyze, solve, consider, and evaluate a problem)
Help your child focus on their SEL skills this summer.
Here are 30 SEL activities you can do at home.
3. Set a Schedule
Regular routines are helpful.
We like to know what to expect.
Obviously, if your family goes on a week long camping trip, this will change the set routine, but try to establish your daily schedule.
This is where you can have time for age appropriate chores, learning to eat healthy, and time for preparing meals together for meals kids can cook, so that you can teach your children those much needed “adulting” skills.
You can also schedule regular reading and/or writing time.
I feel every age should read for at least 15 minutes a day.
With older children, you can bump that up to 30 minutes.
One of the most important points to remember when you are creating your schedule is to leave a lot of available “down time.”
This is summer.
It is supposed to be fun.
Let your kids schedule time to meet with friends, play in the yard, go to the pool, etc.
You also want to schedule time during your week for “day trips” if these are part of your learning goals.
It sounds like a lot of work, or micro managing, if you plan, every Tuesday, for example, to be a “Leave and Learn” day.
However, if you schedule this, then you know to look ahead and see where you can go, which weeks, and what you can accomplish at each of these places.
If you are anything like me, you will also discover that some of the places you had intended on visiting are closed on Tuesdays, so you will be moving “Leave and Learn” that week to Wednesday, for example.
4. Outdoor Learning
Step outside and embark on a journey of discovery.
The world all around your child can ignite curiosity, which in turn can cause your child to have questions.
Questions lead to learning, almost always.
And you did not have to do a thing!
Being outside also provides a different way to socialize, explore their surroundings, and absorb knowledge through hands-on experience and immersive engagements.
*Remember we are looking for a departure from the “regular routine” and a fun way to experience the world, but still learn this summer.
Here are some ideas for close by Outdoor Learning:
- Botanical Gardens
- Wildlife Sanctuaries
- Agricultural or Dairy Farms
- Geological or Rock Formations
- Outdoor Art and Sculpture Parks
- Planetarium (so you can see what outside looks like really far away)
- Zoos
- Coast, Wetland, or Forest depending on where you live
5. Field Trips
The beauty of homeschool is much of your learning is already done on an “experience and learn” model.
For example, when children are learning about farms in agriculture or dairy in health, they can visit these types of places.
Usually, field trips, especially during the school year, coincide with whatever is being taught.
I love this model.
It is called cross disciplinary and integrated teaching.
There are many great places to visit, however, that teach your child valuable skills and lessons that do not necessarily fit into your curriculum.
The summer is a great time to go and visit these.
Summer field trips are experiences that are etched on your child’s mind as highly entertaining and meaningful times spent with the family.
Here are some ideas for field trips:
- Science Museums (there are all types)
- History Museums
- Art Studios
- Food Tours or Cooking Classes
- Library and their Summer Events
- Music or Theater Festivals
- Car Shows
6. Arts and Crafts
6. Arts and CraftsThe summer months provide a perfect opportunity for your child to immerse themself in a creative world of arts and crafts.
This is also a time where your child can challenge themself with a long lasting creative endeavor.
There is research done on the benefits of delayed gratification for children and what it can teach them.
When they start a project and it takes days or weeks to finish, they experience delayed gratification.
This is a great thing to teach your child!
Here are some examples of arts and crafts that may take more than one sitting to accomplish:
- Clay Sculptures
- Nature Collage
- Paper Mache Creations
- Tie-Dye T-Shirts
- Nature Wind-chimes or Mobiles
- Knitting
- Crochet
- Sewing
- Quilting
- Many “art boxes” like Hook Rugs, you can find at hobby stores
7. Science Experiments
Science is literally all around you.
Admittedly, this is not one of favorite topics.
However, I do know that children of all ages love to witness a phenomena when science does “something.”
Whether it is a volcano exploding, a bottle cap flying off a bottle, or a “jolt” of energy being passed from person to person, most children will be attentive when science is going to make itself known.
Here are some ideas for you to incorporate science in your summer routine: (you can google any of these)
Density:
Homemade Lava Lamp
Layered Liquids (different liquids like corn syrup, dish soap, vegetable oil, honey, and water will all find a place)
Dancing Raisins (why don’t they stay at the top, or bottom?
Magnetism:
DIY Compass
Magnetic Racing Car
Magnetic Scavenger Hunt (what can they find around the house that is or is not magnetic?)
Chemical Reactions:
Invisible Ink
Color Changing Milk
Borax Crystal Snowflakes
Machines:
DIY Pulley System
Elastic Band Powered Helicopter
Paper Spinner
Embrace the freedom of summer while continuing to foster a love of learning through engaging activities.
With a dash of creativity and careful planning, parents can craft a routine that feels more like an adventure than a chore.