How much "school" do you do over the summer?

[Clear Creek]

In early elementary, my kids work on math, reading (just practice), and handwriting over the summer. In mid to late elementary they work on math and Latin over the summer. Math we continue with at the normal pace, the other subjects are just maintenance - in our experience, what is not maintained is lost!

[Georgiana Daniels]

We take a week off here and there when one of the girls has a summer camp to attend, but we have to keep up with Math or it's awful when we come back to it. This summer we're adding Latin to the mix, so maybe we'll alternate days. Other than that, I just want to keep their sweet lil' hands busy :)

[musicianmom]

Well, I have 2 kids in the middle of learning to read, so that has to keep going. Occasionally dd5 asks me to help her with math, and dd7 just asked me when we were going to do some math again, so I guess the reading and math option gets my vote.

[Juliegmom]

We keep it very light. He continues to read everyday, but no added work with it. He plays his math games to keep his facts fresh. We review Bible verses from the past couple years. Anything more than that is if ds finds something fun to explore- an experiment, looking up facts of interest, craft projects, etc, all child-led. Nothing required.

 

Yep! This is what we will be doing!

[Jen in PA]

We take 5 or 6 weeks off, then do very light school 4 or 5 days a week until Labor Day, with some weeks off for daycamp and vacation. I don't enjoy reteaching things, and I hate to let handwriting and math facts erode too much, but I do like to have a bit of a break. One thing that doesn't vary is that I require a minimum number of 'book-based hours' year-round. I count personal reading, read-alouds, and audiobooks, and since we have never had an issue with meeting my required minimums, my kIds aren't even aware of what they are.

[Chelli]

We actually do more work in the summer! It is too hot here to do much of anything this time of year. All of our outside commitments follow the school calendar, so summer is the time of year when we can cram in a lot more school work because we are home more. We will take a couple of weeks off around the 4th of July to visit family out of state, but that's it. Plus, my kids are like some others mentioned, they do much, much, MUCH better if we keep our school routine going year round.

[MinivanMom]

We always take a real break in the summer. I feel like I need a block of time where I can focus primarily on the babies. I really value that time in the summer when it's all about them instead of all about the big kids' homeschooling . . . or the big kids' activities . . . or the big kids' games, recitals, etc, etc. I also feel like the big kids benefit from a genuine break where they are responsible for their own time. They undertake a lot of their own projects and do some camps, but nothing is required. When we come back to school in the fall, I have always found that my big kids have made leaps and connections all on their own.

 

Plus, it's just too hot and humid to do any work in the summer. You reach a point where no amount of air conditioning is going to take away the sleepiness that sets in on sticky afternoons. I want to be napping in the shade with my baby and a cold drink, not checking somebody's math.

[texasmama]

None of the poll options really applied to us. We do in the summer the things that we didn't get to in the regularly scheduled school year, light prep for next year, fun extras and a lot of read alouds. This year, that means geography, pre-algebra highlights, chemistry (fun with lots of experiments), units on drug/alcohol use and puberty (for my two boys), a little Kilgallon and The Paragraph Book. I also have a big pile of classics I want to read aloud. It sounds like a lot, but some of it is fun, much of it is oral, and we have no heavy math or language arts to do.

 

ETA: We do take off one week at the beginning of the summer and two weeks at the end of summer. I am not even allowed to do read alouds during these weeks, per the kids. Hurrumph.

[Mommyof4ks]

We focus on the subject that each child is struggling with the most, but we mainly need a break. They work hard all year, and they need some time just to enjoy summers before they become adults and summers are no longer fun. :)

[KrissiK]

We take 6 weeks off. There's swimming lessons, VBS and oldest DH goes to camp for a week, so there's not a whole lot of time for anything else, but I did promise to get to all the art projects that we missed this year. So, summer school (what we do of it) will be art class. Maybe a little music appreciation, too!

[Zoo Keeper]

We do absolutely NO school in the summer. * I * need the break. I need time to read for fun and clean the refrigerator and patch pants and all that other stuff that just doesn't get done enough because I am too busy telling someone to sit down on his bottom, leave his brother alone, and look at HIS paper.

 

During the summer, my kids do lots of reading, creative writing, and blowing things up in the backyard, but that's just FUN, and not school.

 

A good, long, vacation (with or without explosives) is necessary for everyone's mental health around here. ;)

[Julie Smith]

We take 6 weeks off. There's swimming lessons, VBS and oldest DH goes to camp for a week, so there's not a whole lot of time for anything else, but I did promise to get to all the art projects that we missed this year. So, summer school (what we do of it) will be art class. Maybe a little music appreciation, too!

 

 

Your Oldest DH goes to camp for a week? What does you younger DH do?

 

:laugh:

 

<Just laughing in a good natured way at a minor typo>

[LisaKinVA]

Normally, it would be "a light load." However, since we aren't swimming this summer, and since we are still technically behind from building the house and moving, we'll be working.

 

The past few years, our summers worked like this:

 

6am up, school from 7am-8:30, SWIMMING, Lunch, school until 3. Mostly math & reading & projects (or subjects we didn't have time for during the normal school year...like logic and art). 3-6 outside, dinner, clean up...reading/family time (unless it was a swim meet night, those days we were "off" from school).

 

This year, it's different.

 

6am - Morning run/walk around the neighborhood, breakfast, yard work/outdoor stuff, school from 9:30-12:00 break for lunch, 1pm-4pm school, 4-6 outside, dinner, evening chores...if time outside again...7:30 get ready for bed (showers for those who need them), 8pm reading, 9pm bed.

 

We'll be taking one or two days off a week, one will be a "fun" day, and one will be a "project day" (normally, we do school 6 days, one of which is a light day). My oldest has one week of away camp, 2-3 weeks as a camp staffer. My younger son has 1 week of away camp, and 3 weeks of day camps (cub scouts, engineering camp & VBS), Oldest daughter has 1 week of away camp and 2 weeks of day camps (engineering & VBS), younger daughter has 2 weeks of day camps (engineering & VBS) and baby girl has VBS...so it's not like they aren't getting any vacation time ;)

 

Next year, this will all change again...to what, I'm not exactly certain at this point.

[redheadmom]

I voted light load and cupcakes. If we are running a little behind, they can catch up and finish those subjects. Otherwise, we keep it simple. My main reason is to keep them from forgetting so much. Then we can start the new year working on fresh stuff without spending so much time reviewing and relearning. They get weeks off for camp, VBS, vacation, etc. In my state, public school starts back in early August so summer break is only about 8 weeks.

[KrissiK]

Your Oldest DH goes to camp for a week? What does you younger DH do?

 

:laugh:

 

<Just laughing in a good natured way at a minor typo>

 

Oh dear! Heehee! That was supposed to be our little secret! :blushing:

 

 

It was a typo. Yes. And I can't even blame it on the iPad this time. :p

[Dory]

We don't really do breaks. We just have a change of pace. We have a lot of farm projects that I will weave a lesson into during the summer. We play a lot with art outside. We do a few math drills to keep them sharp. But mostly, we enjoy just exploring and researching the nature around us.

[daffodil]

We do our regular load with days off here and there. Summers are hot and miserable here, not a fun time to take an extended break.

[Catherine]

There are definitely breaks where nothing structured happens, and I don't do everything the same with each child. My youngest is the one who *really* forgets a lot when we take a 3 month long break. So math games and occasional review work are on the menu. No conceptual advances, but for him we need to "maintain contact" or he loses ground big time. He reads plenty on his own, so no difficulty there, though I did tell him I'd like him to plan in reading time daily that is NOT comics or Asterix. He'll also practice piano daily when we are here.

[linders]

Where was "other"? :tongue_smilie: We do reading (lots), math (a little), finish up history, and do science projects. Why? To keep their minds from rotting (math), to get all the summer reading program prizes (reading), because we dawdle during the year (history), and for fun (science, reading). With 16 hours in a day, they still manage a lot of summer fun.

[Kelly1730]

We focus on the subject that each child is struggling with the most, but we mainly need a break. They work hard all year, and they need some time just to enjoy summers before they become adults and summers are no longer fun. :)

 

 

Well, I'm an adult and my summers are fun:)

[Luckymama]

Our summer changed as the kids got older. When they were new readers I made sure we had reading-aloud and silent reading time every day, plus a bit of math. As they aged reading continued and math increased. We still didn't do school over the summers----we went swimming, the kids built forts, played with friends, went to day camps, etc.

 

This summer my rising eighth grader will continue her Art of Problem Solving online geometry course. She wants to mess around with balsa construction in preparation for Science Olympiad next year. She will take two weeks of ballet intensive. She will also hang in her treehouse, play Minecraft with her big brother, ride bikes with her cousin, swim, read piles of books, bake with her big sister, have sleepovers with her friends, build gigantic Lego creations... In short, she will enjoy a lazy summer :D

 

I will relax, plan next school year, garden, and try to perfect a baguette :)

[FaithManor]

It's a regular load with occasional days off. We take time out of the normal school year for college visits since we have high schoolers now, and for Team America Rocketry Challenge - five days in May, plus some other pretty major 4-H events such as the team's special speaking engagements.

 

So, it kind of balances out though we still work far more days per year than the local school districts. A typical school year in this neighborhood is 180 - 183 days. We school for approximately 230 days pers year. I don't like the long breaks and big gaps. I even hated them in college and always tried to get summer coursework or internships. I think it has been beneficial to the kids to stay on track.

 

I have a friend that homeschools on the exact same calendar as the local PS because her husband teaches in the high school. He's a great guy, but can be VERY disruptive to the homeschool routine when he is home, so she found that being off when he is off, and in school when he is in school, is the best plan for them.

 

There are days when I admit, I'd like a long break for myself. But, I keep doing what works and figure I'll have a nice vacation when the last one graduates.

 

Faith

[Heather in Neverland]

This year my boys are doing math, reading books, practicing piano and tennis everyday. My little princess is doing letter worksheets and learning to read with 100EZ lessons.

[Georgiana Daniels]

We do enough to not go backwards in Math and Latin. Of course, the kids have to read over the break--one loves reading but for the other it's a chore. Other than that, they are too busy with camps and other scheduled activities to be at the table.

[Susan in TN]

I was just wondering how much school work you do over the summer. We always debate between "having a break" and "keep going so as not to fall back"

 

 

Typically we are done in late April/early May and then don't do any school (unless you count read-aloud time) until we start the next year. Most years we start back in mid-July because it's so hot and no one wants to go outside anyway. This year we won't likely have our official start until mid-to-late August, but I may start the younger ones on math and Latin in July just to get that going.

[PeacefulChaos]

I voted that we don't do school over the summer, BUT our summer isn't the usual 'summer'... in the past we've taken off about 6 weeks (beginning of June to mid-July).

This year, I have all my curriculum bought for next year but haven't planned anything out yet. So I'm not sure we'll start when we usually do. We were all REALLY ready for the time off this year, and I'm milking it to the fullest. :D

[I.Dup.]

We are doing none, and I wish there had been an option that it is I who needs the break the most!

 

Ditto. I say we're 'year round' schoolers but we are taking a definite summer break this year. I keep meaning to make a detailed plan for next year, but between a newborn and my internet ADD problem I get distracted as soon as I sit down to do any planning. :p I WILL get it done though, I'm just a last minute kind of person.

 

The good thing is, we finished everything that needed to be finished this past year so we're not behind.

[SwallowTail]

Honestly, we probably do more school in summer. It is so hot, so it is a good time to work indoors. Also, we seem to have fewer distractions. I also have more energy, and we are generally healthier.

[Desert Strawberry]

My kids have tennis lessons and arts and crafts classes everyday for 6 weeks. This year, we're also doing the library summer program and nature classes at a state park.

We are doing lots of reading, and my oldest is keeping a summer journal. Enough to keep our brains busy.

This year was pretty intense. We're changing a lot of curriculum. We all need a break. So for 6-8 weeks, we're just doing summer stuff. We'll start fresh in the fall.

We also like cupcakes.

[Cinder]

Light load--math and reading. Dd (2nd grade) struggled greatly with math and we didn't get anywhere close to finishing her book. I'm reluctant to let her skills regress. We had a slight hiccup when we took about 10 days off for a vacation trip but things are going smoothly again now.

 

The reading is mostly enjoying read-alouds together. We have 2 books going at the same time, one for morning and one for bedtime. Dh also has a book he reads to her. So 3 total. And she reads a lot on her own too. She loves reading.

[Giraffe]

About 30 minutes a day of math and phonics with a goal of reading by summer's end. I don't think it's too much to ask and DD loves the math, tolerates the phonics (Little Miss just wants to READ already!).

[Crimson Wife]

We do shorter days but school year-round. In the summer, we do interest-led science. Normally we do interest-led history but got way behind this past school year and so we're finishing up last year's world geography course (I rearranged the syllabus to save Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa for last as they'll make a good segue into Ancient History this fall). DD grumbled that we didn't get around to Art of Argument during the regular school year so I'm subbing that for LA.

[SarahW]

I started my kid into homeschooling the Monday after public school ended. Yes, I'm a terrible mom, lol.

 

We're moving at the end of summer, and baby is due in the Fall, and we'll have company a few times, so I'm expecting that there will be a good school-break then. And it's too hot in the afternoon here to do anything but sit around inside and play computer games anyways, so why not school? We do swim lessons or the beach in the mornings, and in the evenings sometimes hit a park. Plenty enough time for computer games between those.

 

Though I must say that it has been nice to start without having to give a fig about record keeping. We do lots of stuff orally or on a little whiteboard (the whiteboard is fun). If I had to think about a portfolio right now I would be sort of freaking out.

 

I'm not sure how to answer the poll. I guess I'm an outlier. Cool!

[Jeannie in NJ]

we live on a resort island so summer is the happening time with the beach (we can walk to it) and the Boardwalk (5 min ride) so we take off school for the summer. Also dh is a teacher and he has summers off with us. However, both of my teens are working part time on the Boardwalk this summer so when they are not working it is free time. We also spend a lot of time with nearby extended family.