Do you school through the summer?

[Runningmom80]

I swear we are never taking a break longer than a few weeks again. :banghead:

 

My oldest is a wreck of anxiety, and I know it's because we haven't done anything academic (besides reading) since June. I know he needs the academic challenge to calm down, but then part of me feels bad for "making him do school," in the summer. 

 

He's on the swim team and is currently in a two week hip hop camp so he's busy, but he's not challenged and his emotional state is suffering because of it.

 

Curious if anyone else schools this way, and if so, how much do you do in the summer?  Is it child driven or parent driven?

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

Edited July 19, 2017 by someonestolemyname

[Arcadia]

My DS12 has always done academics year round else he would have even more trouble sleeping. The heavier/more challenging his academic workload, the happier he is. My husband of course complains about the cost :P He does grudgingly pay up because it is still cheaper than private tutors and my oldest is already beyond what my husband can teach for math and science.

[quark]

Really no reason to worry or feel bad about making kids do academics in summer if that's really what gives them a sense of calm and productivity. We schooled year-round and only started taking breaks when kiddo started DE-ing at the community college but even then kiddo would either take a summer DE class and/ or volunteer and/ or pursue multiple self-driven projects.

 

Parent-driven classes were anything to do with PE because my kid hates sports and needed some activity to keep the body healthy.

Student-driven pursuits were anything academic/ fun in nature.

 

We've also done all sorts of routines e.g. studies all summer long or academic work 3 weeks and take a week off or academic work for 2 weeks take next 2 weeks off or follow the DE schedule of 6 intense weeks and take the rest of the summer off albeit with student-driven projects etc. Anything that works, works here.

 

Be gentle on yourself Amber!

Edited July 19, 2017 by quark

[mathnerd]

he's not challenged and his emotional state is suffering because of it.

 

My son is playing 2 sports this summer and in one of them he is training for a competition which means that the coach is putting him through his paces. Still, he suffers from insomnia if he is unchallenged mentally. So, we school rigorously during summer - but, since I too feel bad about making him do school (and am a wimp who falls for people telling me that my son has one childhood and not to blow it up for him :( ), my workaround is to do rigorous schooling in non-school areas! We have done subjects like Cryptography, Programming, robotics, Music Theory bootcamp, Music Composition classes, Spanish, Chess camp, MOEMS problem sets, old AMC 8 questions, crossword puzzles, sudoku, Math Circle questions etc. every summer. Most of these come with either homework (outside classes, camp) or needs deep thinking and a lot of it is open ended. I believe that these things challenge him to think deeply and keep him from becoming an emotional mess in the summer. When we are not taking a vacation break DS spends 2-3 hours on these subjects, plays sports, practices his music and reads (free reading) all summer long.

[chocolate-chip chooky]

We absolutely *need* to keep at it all year round.

 

About three days off in a row is the maximum before the effects show, and this includes weekends.

 

A few weeks back we had a couple of things planned on a Thurs and then the Fri. These things were valuable, but not brainfood. By Sunday, we had real issues, which mostly present as anxieties/OCDish stuff.

 

At 11 my daughter is really quite self-aware and is getting better at understanding this about herself. 

 

It isn't particularly led by me or by her. It just happens because it really needs to and everyone is happier and healthier for it.

 

 

 

ETA: Another tricky time is during mild illness. It's hard to keep the challenge level just right. We can quickly spiral then too.

Edited July 19, 2017 by chocolate-chip chooky

[Rush]

My son is playing 2 sports this summer and in one of them he is training for a competition which means that the coach is putting him through his paces. Still, he suffers from insomnia if he is unchallenged mentally. So, we school rigorously during summer - but, since I too feel bad about making him do school (and am a wimp who falls for people telling me that my son has one childhood and not to blow it up for him :( ), my workaround is to do rigorous schooling in non-school areas! We have done subjects like Cryptography, Programming, robotics, Music Theory bootcamp, Music Composition classes, Spanish, Chess camp, MOEMS problem sets, old AMC 8 questions, crossword puzzles, sudoku, Math Circle questions etc. every summer. Most of these come with either homework (outside classes, camp) or needs deep thinking and a lot of it is open ended. I believe that these things challenge him to think deeply and keep him from becoming an emotional mess in the summer. When we are not taking a vacation break DS spends 2-3 hours on these subjects, plays sports, practices his music and reads (free reading) all summer long.

Almost the same.

[daijobu]

When my kids were in elementary and middle we schooled year round.  We only took breaks for family vacations and camps.  We did not adhere to a typical school schedule.  And it's wonderful.  

 

We don't have the summer to forget everything that was learned the previous year.  We stay busy learning and having fun all year long.  If I need to be spontaneous and take off a day for a field trip with friends, I can relax knowing that we always make up for lost days during the summer.  Otherwise what are the kids supposed to do all summer?  I personally hated summer because it was so boring and wished I could have schooled year round. 

 

Do it, and you'll never look back.  

[daijobu]

If it helps, my dh likes to argue that summer vacation is an anachronism harkening back to the days when kids needed time off to bring in the harvest, lol.  

[Runningmom80]

You all make me feel less weird. :)

 

thank you for the replies, I talked to DH and we are going to start him coding again until we can start school in a couple of weeks.

[Runningmom80]

If it helps, my dh likes to argue that summer vacation is an anachronism harkening back to the days when kids needed time off to bring in the harvest, lol.

Haha! This will work on DS, I'll tell him he's going to have to start tending the crops if he doesn't do summer school.

[Runningmom80]

I forgot, he is doing Spanish once a week as well! But it's easy, so doesn't help much.

[Julie Smith]

We do. If we are home, daddy is at work, and no out of town visitors - then it's a school day.

[Jackie]

We school when there isn't something else to do. We take off for camps, travel, visits with family or friends, and special events. Otherwise, we do school. For my daughter, she needs to be actively engaged in something. It doesn't need to be academic, but it does need to have a purpose.

[Porridge]

We school year round (because we vacation off-season, i.e. we take trips during the regular school year). We are actually enjoying "Summer school" more than school-year school because there are fewer scheduled activities in the summer  - the days feel less rushed and we are all enjoying our books.

[Seeking Squirrels]

Ugh, I always plan to school lightly through the summer. And then the next thing I know, it's nearing August and we've hardly done anything. I feel badly about this because we've realized since DD9 was 4 that she does better with the structure of school time and she doesn't do well with breaks. And yet still we keep allowing school to slide during the summer (and of course holidays). DH and I were just talking last week about how DD9 has been an emotional mess. By the end of last week she was having multiple meltdowns a day and I was frazzled keeping up with her. This week she is going to a STEM camp from 9-4 every day. I was half prepared for a major meltdown in the evenings because that's what happened when she went to PS last year, but nothing. She's done great there and at home. 

 

So apparently even though we learned this about her when she was 4, we have to be reminded constantly. Go us. :/ NO breaks. 

 

Next week we will do school at least an hour or two every day. Then we have a road trip and we'll be taking work with us for the drive but I won't make her while there unless there is good down time that doesn't take away from visiting with family. One week back home and we'll do school and then we have another trip. I'll take work on that, too. We're visiting homeschooling friends who also need structure so maybe we can have a scheduled break from visiting to do some school work. 

 

No more breaks for us. I promise I've learned my lesson this time. 

[Crimson Wife]

My kids do better with shorter days but year-round.

 

Oldest DD is only taking 1 summer DE course vs. 3 DE courses during fall & spring semesters. However, it's a 6 week condensed course that meets M-Th for 3 hours per day instead of the regular 2 days per week for 2 hours. She had 3 weeks off in May/June and will have 2 weeks off from 7/31-8/11.

[Donna]

We school when we are home so that means sometimes we break a week or two during the school year and school a week or two each month in the summer. 

[daijobu]

Here's another recent thread on the topic.

[SarahW]

I feel odd when these discussions come up.

 

For reference, DS here in NL is still in school. His school year ends tomorrow.

 

So in the US 180 days or 34 weeks or whatever is common. But it's not a universal goal. True, DS did have slightly more breaks in his school year than is common in American schools. But even factoring that in, I'm pretty sure his school exceeded 200 days.

 

But even still, yes, I've always schooled through the summer. Weekends, too. Depends. And yes, make up the time with breaks during odd times when needed. But structure, routine, and firing the brain cells with some challenge. I don't see the reason to give those up just because of a date on the calendar, kwim? And now with afterschooling, keeping the daily routine through summer break is important.

 

But how the day is structured and what materials I plan to use changes, depending on what life is like. But that's true throughout the year. 

 

 

[4Kiddos]

We don't school year around but have a regular schedule of school subjects during the traditional school year. In the summer, we do a lot of "non-school" learning to combat the crazy. Every summer my kids chooses a special subject to study in depth- for example my oldest chose amphibians. I choose some fun math materials to use. I pick out a giant stack of books for reading on a variety of subjects- some science, some history, some literature, etc. This allows summer to feel fresh and new and allows my kids to explore topics in depth more than our usual school year. They obviously have time to do their interests during the year but I actively plan and seek out new materials for their topic of choice each summer. Summer also gives me a little more time to work on any weak areas. Finally, I try to pick out some new skills or project that they learn over the summer- my oldest did woodworking last summer. This more free schedule works really well with the other stuff that goes on in the summer.This summer is a bit odd because we are moving so things have been even less planned than usual.

[SeaConquest]

We don't school year-round because my kids are in full-day summer camp from Memorial Day until Labor Day. The camps this year ranged from surfing to skateboarding to science to music, so there is a lot of variety. Sacha does regress academically over the summer, but it's usually not a big deal. If he wasn't in camp all day, then we would likely have to do something academic, as he would just end up playing video games all day (and that would definitely be bad for his attitude).  

[desertstrawberry5]

Kind of. 

 

We tke short breaks as needed through the year. 

 

In the summer, we do the summer reading programs. And I require some math. And some writing. And we do learning programs/classes outside the house, too. not really school, but no mush brains around here. 

 

Once the reading program is over, we are back at it. We start our school year in early July. We ended at the end of April, because we were all fried from a stressful year. Usually we go through early may. 

[SKL]

Depends what you mean by school.  :)  My kids are really busy in the summer.  You could call a lot of it academic, such as the full-time day camps at the science / natural history museums.  Whether they are retaining any of it is another question.  :P

 

While both of my kids are accelerated, one of them needs a lot of review to keep up.  I put her in Sylvan's Math Edge, which is 2 hours per week of individualized math practice.  This seems to work better than my pushing her to work at home.  I should probably force her to do some math fact practice though.

 

My other kid doesn't really "need" review, but to appear balanced and because she is curious, I have her doing some bridge programs, science projects, and a few other things.  She also asked me to add her to the Sylvan math program, so she will start that in August.

 

Reading is encouraged, but I'm not pushing it super hard, because sleep is more important.  :)  My reluctant reader has done a minimum of actual reading, but she's working through a fairly meaty book, so if she finishes that, I'm good.  Together we're listening to audiobooks and read-alouds, and they are attending monthly book discussions and biweekly writing classes at the library.

 

I have some more things I want to do, but I'm not sure how much is realistic.  My kids are of the opinion that summer break means you take a break.  :P

[HomeAgain]

Not exactly school, no.  We do the summer reading program, and this year he's working about an hour on math each day for fun, but we do a lot of field trips and getting him out of his comfort zone in the summer.

[Dmmetler]

Not sure anymore. This summer, DD has gone to a week-long academic summer program, a conference for gifted students (which included academic workshops), a Herpetology conference, pre-read textbooks for fall, and worked on her class materials to teach as well. There has rarely been a day without something academic, even though she's between big research projects except for continued monitoring and maintenance on her frogs, but it hasn't been structured by me.

[Noreen Claire]

We absolutely *need* to keep at it all year round.

 

About three days off in a row is the maximum before the effects show, and this includes weekends.

 

A few weeks back we had a couple of things planned on a Thurs and then the Fri. These things were valuable, but not brainfood. By Sunday, we had real issues, which mostly present as anxieties/OCDish stuff.

 

 

Thanks for posting this. We took summer off because DH has the summer off and wants to do fun stuff with his boys. However, after 3 weeks off, DS8 is showing signs of heightened anxiety and OCD issues. I actually had him tested for strep last week, thinking it was a PANDAS flare-up. (Test was negative for step.) I'm going to add some challenging work back into his mornings and see if that helps him get back to his 'normal'. Edited July 23, 2017 by Noreen Claire

[TerriM]

Curious if anyone else schools this way, and if so, how much do you do in the summer?  Is it child driven or parent driven?

 

 

I don't homeschool.  I could have the kids taking summer classes during the summer but I don't because I feel that they need the down time and that as they get older, I want them to get a job rather than being a perpetual student.  My mom encouraged me to take summer classes instead of getting a job, and I feel it led to a view of "more school is better" and "I'm not good enough yet to do a job" which led to me staying in college way too long has hurt me financially and career-wise.

 

Clearly your situation is very different, and if you kid needs to have academics throughout the summer to stay sane, go for it.

 

 

I do have a friend who says that she homeschools throughout the summer because she doesn't take a break, so why should the kids?  But she also does half-days--morning is work, afternoon is play, so I think the kids still have a good balance.  

[HomeAgain]

I want to clarify my thoughts a bit.  While we don't school really in the summer, what I have found is that summer is best used for putting the previous year's work to practical use.  Ds7 began learning Latin last year, and this summer has been spent reading Harry Potter and finding the connections in the spells.  He did quite a bit of biology and nature study, so this summer is spent at the seashore with a weekly program that encourages him to learn more about habitats, human involvement, and symbiotic relationships (along with invasive species).  He's working on our backyard garden and hiking and biking and swimming.  He has visited more museums and tours than I want to count, lol, and the summer library program has brought him in contact with various performers.  As a family we work on puzzles together, and we have daily math time because he likes it.

 

So no, *I'm* not challenging him over the summer.  I'm giving him the opportunities to not think of school as something separate, but as preparation for daily life and jobs he may want as an adult.  Summer is exploration time.  He is finding himself in situations where he's not the best at something and doesn't know immediately (putting my little landlubber on the beach with coasties' kids was an eye opener for him. :lol: ) and it's making him work harder and learn how to learn - something accelerated kids do struggle with as they get older.

 

 

The winter is brutal here so we'll spend a lot more time indoors and with books and a schedule to make the time pass.  The summer is for being interest driven.

[Runningmom80]

I don't homeschool.  I could have the kids taking summer classes during the summer but I don't because I feel that they need the down time and that as they get older, I want them to get a job rather than being a perpetual student.  My mom encouraged me to take summer classes instead of getting a job, and I feel it led to a view of "more school is better" and "I'm not good enough yet to do a job" which led to me staying in college way too long has hurt me financially and career-wise.

 

Clearly your situation is very different, and if you kid needs to have academics throughout the summer to stay sane, go for it.

 

 

I do have a friend who says that she homeschools throughout the summer because she doesn't take a break, so why should the kids?  But she also does half-days--morning is work, afternoon is play, so I think the kids still have a good balance.  

 

We do half days during the school year.  Mornings are for math, grammar, read alouds and spanish, afternoons are science, art, interest/project based learning.

 

I would not o full days of school in the summer.  I'm thinking just 2 hours would be enough if it was something challenging and engaging.