Dramorellis Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 This is our first full year of homeschooling and previously I had no plans to school into the summer but i think that I was just so burned out from when he was in a rigorous public school. Now I see the benefit so I plan to go through the summer, take off for most of August and start with "3rd grade" in September. With vacations, birthdays and playing with friends that are out for the summer I think a shorter schedule would be preferable. I'm currently thinking continue to do math and language arts daily, then doing some unit study on specific topics in history and science. What does every one else do? Do you keep a full schedule or keep it light? What things are you looking to explore? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcara Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 We keep it light, continuing math and finishing anything from our regular studies - often Latin and history. We use Analytical Grammar which is designed to do over 10-12 weeks, so we do that in the summer and then do the review books during the regular school year. We take about a month off completely when we travel and visit family and friends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsbrack Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 My plan is to keep going with math and language arts. We do TOG and BFSU during the school year but will probably stop that in favor of light unit studies in the summer. We will probably do a lot of nature study since my son is fascinated by critters. I'm planning a unit on creepy crawlies and one on dinosaurs. This is my first full year homeschooling so all plans are subject to change though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinivanMom Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 We always take a full break in the summer. It allows the kids to read, read, read and to spend more time on their areas of passion. My oldest is going to a ballet summer intensive and a French immersion camp. She will probably spend a significant amount of time writing. My second is going to a baseball camp, a cub scout camp, and will be doing swim team. We are still looking around for a science class or project that will meet his current interests. My third is going to a ballet camp and will probably spend a lot of time reading and playing with dolls. I don't plan or require anything (other than trips to the pool and the beach). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 This is our first full year of homeschooling and previously I had no plans to school into the summer but i think that I was just so burned out from when he was in a rigorous public school. Now I see the benefit so I plan to go through the summer, take off for most of August and start with "3rd grade" in September. With vacations, birthdays and playing with friends that are out for the summer I think a shorter schedule would be preferable. I'm currently thinking continue to do math and language arts daily, then doing some unit study on specific topics in history and science. What does every one else do? Do you keep a full schedule or keep it light? What things are you looking to explore? We only did Official School Stuff two days a week when the dc were as young as yours, so of course we kept on through the summer. We also had a regular weekly routine of library every Wednesday, field trip every Thursday, and house cleaning/laundry on Friday. Even on days when we didn't do Official School Stuff, we still did the other things, because they were relaxing and enjoyable and we like having a routine. Of course, since we lived in San Diego, random midweek trips to Disneyland or Knotts Berry Farm or Universal Studios when the weather was nice were bound to happen. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 We generally taper off in May and June and then start easing back in during July and August. During the taper down we finish up programs from the school year, usually history, maybe writing or science. We keep math and foreign languages short but steady through the summer. I like to start SOTW in August because everybody likes it and there are so many chapters! That said, we always take a week or two off altogether, for camps or planning or sanity. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 We keep going with a full load, but may slow down to half speed or so during busy weeks. DD has to do reading and instrument practice every day, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess4879 Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 We take summers off, for the most part. The kids will do Reflex Math because they like it and they will also continue with their typing, again, because it's a "game" for them. We will also be doing a bit of spelling review with my oldest, as she forgot a lot of spelling rules last summer. Otherwise we are outside and enjoying the nice weather. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyseal Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 It is difficult to ramp my daughter up after more than a few days off, so I've decided to school through the summer for language arts and math, while doing everything else at a relaxed speed. RS-B has been taking most of our math time lately, so I think I'll do what we have left of red and orange book in Miquon along with Education Unboxed videos once we finish B some time in June. I'm not planning a rigid schedule at all -- my daughter is a young first grader now as it is -- but we definitely need structure with math and reading! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidlit Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 I used to try to bank some days in July against spur of the moment vacations and sick days, but last year I finally realized that I NEED a long-ish summer break. It takes me at least a month to relax enough from my "school mode" to really enjoy the summer and think about suing house projects. I also roughly follow the public school calendar because my sister works at a ps and my nephews attend there, and we do stuff with them in the summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 We keep going with a full load, but may slow down to half speed or so during busy weeks. DD has to do reading and instrument practice every day, though. This is what we do, too. {But a full load for us right now is Scirpture Time, Lang Arts, and Math. Everything else is books and DVDs.} We learned early on that taking a break of longer than a weekend was not a good idea for our kids. They need the constant structure. Covering a grade and a half a year isn't so bad, either. Of course, we are flexible for swim days or play dates or whatever...that does not change because of the season. Kids forget too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexi Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 We usually spend a lot of time swimming. But we do still do school over the summer. We plan to continue on with math and language arts (phonics for some and grammar and writing and spelling for others). We will also do something different for science and history for a fun break. We'll also have music lessons and work on Spanish. We also do some computer learning over the summer for the afternoons when it's too hot to go outside and when we're exhausted. Last year my kids did Reading Eggs. I think I'll look into something new for this summer. Last year we took off most of the summer because we were moving. It was so very hard to get back into a routine when we started back up in August. I've vowed to continue doing some things this summer even if it's a lighter load. We can't have 3 months off again!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dramorellis Posted February 10, 2014 Author Share Posted February 10, 2014 Some good ideas, thanks! Mostly we just need to keep a schedule with some structure or it is chaos. I also worry we might lose some momentum and I don't want to spend all of September doing review. Lots of pool/beach time and nature walks though. I'm pretty sure a sand box in the back yard and a hose counts for science, right! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebeccaMary Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 We keep up with our basics: math, reading, science, history, and piano - for us, summer's a good time to do some of the "extras" that we don't get around to during the school year (like take a break from Singapore Math to do Ed Zaccaro's Challenge Math). However, it's very low key for us: if we miss a day, or a week, or even a month, I really don't sweat it. Also, we go on lots more field trips and we do most of our lessons on the picnic table outside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourisenough Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 We continue schooling about 2-hours per day through June & July, but we take August off completely. That two hour block is used to keep on track with math, read & work on whatever our "skill focus" is for the summer: mastering multiplication facts, states & capitals, and typing have been previous summers' hot topics. Not sure yet about this summer. I couldn't imagine stopping school work entirely for three months; that just wouldn't work for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 We do less, but still something every weekday. (Big schedule changes are a problem for DS.) This summer, except for the week the grandparents are visiting, my plan is to continue math; do reading, but at a more relaxed pace; continue science once a week and art once a week; have writing twice a week but drop memory work; drop daily geography and add history once a week; and add Spanish once a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My3girls Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Last summer was our first homeschool summer. We spent it reviewing and filling in holes, especially, in math. Then we started new material after Labor Day. I plan to do a light summer. As we finish our curriculum (starting in May and last one should be done by end of June), we'll replace it with free reading, journaling, and science/history unit studies on topics of their choosing. We'll continue with LoF, and I am considering adding in Murderous Maths to keep math skills going without making it too intensive. We shouldn't have more than a couple of hours of school time a day at most. We'll start new curriculums after Labor Day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StartingOver Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Reading, writing, and math....... and tons of time at the Pool !!! We do a very limited schedule in the summer, just enough so that we don't have to review come winter. We school in the morning, and head to the pool by 11 am. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.