Summer plans for year round homeschool?

[displace]

I'm trying to get some ideas for homeschooling through the summer. We need to keep up and progress in skills but I don't want all summer to just be school. I think others here may have some idea on balance.

 

My tentative plans are 2-4 weeks of summer science camps (with maybe no work or just reading for 15 min a day for a few days). The rest of the time I'm thinking of a four day modified schedule (minimal reading, writing, math, plus fun stuff with science experiments, art, music, read alouds rotating), and one day for field trips.

 

It sounds like a lot and I'm thinking maybe a three day a week summer schedule instead. I also plan on our regular extracurriculars which will be 2-3 times per week.

[Ethel Mertz]

Our plans for summer: 

Take a break from June 26 to July 7.

 

Between July 7 and August 9: Cover 4 subjects - Writing, Math, Spanish, and Latin. Writing and Math are 5 days a week; Spanish and Latin alternate every other day. We may also do a pond water study. In addition, he'll continue drum lessons (except in August) and will probably have advanced swim class.

 

We'll have another break from August 10 to September 8 (although he'll be away at an Audubon camp for a week and that will count for school hours) and then start up with our regular schedule.

 

ETA: Oops. I just realized I was responding on the Learning Challenges Board. DS mainly has sensory issues which he's starting to outgrow, so summer plans might look entirely different than what I have listed. I also agree with Oh Elizabeth below that reading and math instruction continue, regardless, (and for any kid). I think I need more coffee.

[PeterPan]

There are a chunk of kids who lose lots of ground in math, for instance, when they take it off for the summer, and those kids don't have LDs.  Once you introduce the LDs, it's possible to lose ASTONISHING amounts of ground by taking off.  I won't take off reading instruction completely until ds' reading is self-reinforcing, nor will I take off math.  If anything, we'll do MORE reading work in the summer rather than less.  Sorry.

 

I just got the Creepy Crawlies book through the library and I'm thinking we could have a goal of one chapter per week during the summer.  But that would be our after our work is done, pleasure/exploration stuff, not a substitute for reading and math instruction.

[Maela]

My plan for the summer is boring, but easy for me:

30 min Khan Academy

One Duolingo lesson

30 min independent reading

30 min read alouds

 

Every weekday that we don't have something going on already.

[OneStepAtATime]

Summer is a bit up in the air. We MAY be in another city for the summer. If that plays out then the kids will be doing specialized tutoring in reading (the tutoring center will continue Barton with both, but also other things to help DS) while I try to wrap up some issues with the family business. DS may also be involved in a robotics club that is forming right now in our local area so he may continue doing robotics wherever we are located, but on his own time until we can rejoin the local group. If we are in the other city they will be taking piano lessons with a friend of mine as well (she specialized in kids with sequencing and coordination issues so DS should do o.k).

 

Irregardless of where we are during the summer we will do read alouds/audio books plus continue with CLE math and Barton, either on our own or through the professional tutoring place. We also will be periodically reviewing science/history/math terms since those easily get forgotten over the summer and really mucks them up in the Fall if they can't remember the words or what they mean. Quizzlet and fun word games keep this from being a chore. I plan on us taking two weeks off at the beginning of June and 2 weeks off in August. School stuff will be mornings 3-4 days a week.

 

We may do a few fun science/history projects but that will be interest led.

 

ETA: I agree with OhE, my kids lose math terms/concepts/computational skills even if we stop for a couple of week so i hope to do a little review at least one day each week of the couple of weeks we plan to take off at the beginning and end of the summer. We will play Barton card games on that day too so we dont lose ground with Barton...

[Pen]

We will continue with math and writing (composition), and ideally also foreign language, but I am not going to push that. (If reading were still a problem that would continue too, but it just happens nowadays). Around 2 hours per day expected.

 

Some art or music or a field trip type thing might happen, but not as "school" per se.

[displace]

Ok. This is a good start. I am worried about taking off too much time and losing ground. That seems like a valid concern and I won't or shouldn't feel bad about continuing what we're doing.

[Pen]

The year we did intensive reading remediation, that was all we did during the summer. I don't mean All we did, but all the schooling--my only regret is not keeping up the math that year too, since my ds had been "ahead" in math, but lost significant ground over that summer.  Otherwise, keeping the focus on reading --  we read and then gardened, read and then went swimming, read and then ate, etc. -- helped incredibly to bring ds from non-reader to reader... that and having a program that worked for him.

 

ETA: In retrospect, I wish I had had him to 3 days per week of math to not go from way ahead to way behind--the ground lost was indeed truly astonishing.

 

We actually did do, and I have no regrets about it, 7 days per week reading, 30 min daily on weekends, and 2 hours 5 days per week M-F. (The 2 hours were in divided sessions, never longer than 30 min at a stretch.  I did it due to it being all ds could handle, but I now know that it fits models of how brains learn best, too.

 

So the parts of your plan I'd question is the (to me relatively high) total academics/school time you are planning OTOH, and OTOH, the very small amount of time, and possible inconsistency, you seem to have given for reading.  From the time we started intensive reading remediation, not one day was missed, until my ds was "a reader."  Significant time and intensity was a big part of making it happen.  Maybe that is not a part of a traditional OG program, like you are doing, I don't know.

 

ETA to me the summer schooling time is to keep skills that get lost with non-use sharp, and catching up on things that are behind.  Otherwise, summers are much less intense schooling times, or else I would surely burn out.  But maybe if I were living in situation where I needed "school" things just to keep dc busy, it would be different. We have more than enough to do in summer without any school.

[FairProspects]

We lose too much ground in the summer if we take it off too. We will continue math for both kids, spelling for younger ds, probably Rewards for younger ds, and some kind of reading/lit. for both. We usually take summer off from our regular science and history and sometimes do summer science camps or travel. This year older ds is in kind of a weird in-between spot for camps - he has done everything he is interested in for his age range but he is not quite old enough to access the middle school camps. I'm not totally sure what we are going to do with him yet. Younger ds wants sports and music camps so those are easy enough to accomplish.

 

I haven't thought too much about summer yet because we still have 2 1/2 months left of this year, and I'm also busy trying to line up all the classes and activities for next year that require registration now.

[Lecka]

I would not take off reading.  I would be fine with spending some time having reading only be review and practice of some kind, not covering new material.  I would not take it off totally.  

 

This is changing this year as my son is in 4th grade, but prior to this year, I would have said that for math, for his school, they will start the first two months of school by reviewing the last two months of the previous grade, b/c they build in the expectation that most kids will forget two months of material over the summer.  This year it does not seem that way, and I am going to have him review math over the summer so that he can be ready to start 5th grade math.  

 

So, yes, in public school younger kids come back to school after a summer with no math, BUT there is the consequence of expecting to have to review two months, instead of just picking up where they left off.  

 

In math my son is in the range of other kids.  In reading ---- he would lose way more than other kids, it would be bad.  Now -- I think he has cemented his reading, I am not so worried, but he still needs to read.  When he was still learning, no, I would not take off.  I would not take off for Sunday.  I did have some times when we took off 3-4 days, and it was NOT worth it.  But review could be very minimal, 15 minutes could be enough to make a big difference.  

 

[ElizabethB]

My phonics concentration game is a fun way to keep up phonics skills.

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Phonics/concentrationgam.html

[Princess Ariel]

I always intend to continue  some things through the summer but it doesn't always turn out that way.  For example I need a break and after being diagnosed with Lyme disease last fall, I now  know why I am so exhausted and why my brain isn't working the greatest at times. I always end up feeling incredibly guilty for not doing more during the summers, but  I have probably had it at least since 2009.

 

My kids definitely need to continue on with math and reading and my older one, ds 15, could use some formal science instruction. Dd 13 is now enjoying reading on her own so that will be easier and she is making progress with TT so that can continue. I cannot control the outside world, such as ds telling me all the guys on the baseball team are finished with school so why can't he be finished as well. He feels a lot of pressure from hearing that but he just isn't so lucky in  academics  that he can afford to take off. 

 

I am looking for ways to provide review and continued learning without it being a lot of extra work for me. I am also hoping for more direction from the NP after ds's updated  eval next month.  Maybe that will help me focus on the most important areas first.

[displace]

It looks like more votes are in for continuing full on for the learning disabilities, and keep up with math, with fun stuff as extra.  It's hard for me to hear that as those are the subjects that take up all our time!  :)  Though I must be getting forgetful as it's much better to do that than all that afterschooling we had been doing before we started homeschooling.  And we now have a "normal" daily schedule, not some stressed out day every day.

[FairProspects]

It looks like more votes are in for continuing full on for the learning disabilities, and keep up with math, with fun stuff as extra.  It's hard for me to hear that as those are the subjects that take up all our time!  :)  Though I must be getting forgetful as it's much better to do that than all that afterschooling we had been doing before we started homeschooling.  And we now have a "normal" daily schedule, not some stressed out day every day.

 

It does get easier as they get older. The first year we took off Christmas break my older ds forgot how to read in those 2 weeks! Now we haven't done spelling over the last 2-3 summers and he has jumped back into the next level book just fine. My younger ds would probably be ok without doing spelling too but he is behind and I want to get him up to the right level words.

[texasmama]

Both of my boys will be finishing up math this summer.  It will overlap with a running start on history in order to spread out the 9th grade credit over a full calendar year so we are not so crushed during basketball season and while adjusting to an online Spanish class and a brand new approach to 9th grade English.  (I will be their English teacher in co op, but it will still be a different approach.)

 

My non-NT guy gets overwhelmed and is the slow and steady type, so while he is cognitively able to do the work, he struggles emotionally at times.  Giving more time is the best accommodation I can give him.  

 

I also have some odds and ends planned for the summer such as typing/keyboarding and going through Elements of Style.

 

Just don't do what I did one year and overload us with "wonderful subjects!".  I had the boys completing Key to Algebra at an amazingly fast pace, and I reduced my older ds to tears.  (bag over head)

[OneStepAtATime]

It looks like more votes are in for continuing full on for the learning disabilities, and keep up with math, with fun stuff as extra.  It's hard for me to hear that as those are the subjects that take up all our time!  :)  Though I must be getting forgetful as it's much better to do that than all that afterschooling we had been doing before we started homeschooling.  And we now have a "normal" daily schedule, not some stressed out day every day.

Just maybe build in scheduled breaks.

 

Like, the kids and I all do better in the summer if we know for certain that Friday - Monday (or Friday - Sunday depending on the week) there is no formal school.  Having that block of time on most days is a relief.  We wake up knowing that our time is our own.  We can do whatever floats our boat.  The other three days are absolutely keeping the formal reading/spelling/writing remediation stuff still going as well as math.  If I have it scheduled that way ahead of time and post a calendar on the fridge with the schedule written in we are far less likely to slide things over day after day and then find out a month has gone by with nearly nothing done in the way of reading/math.

 

Last summer we ran into snags, though, and I was not in town for a big chunk.  We lost a lot of ground.  What was funny was DD was asking when we were starting Barton again.  She was eager to get back to Barton and was frustrated that we weren't doing normal lessons.  She doesn't LOVE Barton.  But she really likes the predictability, the routine and the fact that she sees progress with every level we pass.

 

Can you have some review type materials ready to go that can be done with no prep?

 

For instance, with Barton there are practice sheets, card games, and fluency drills, as well as leveled readers that are already ready to go and can be pulled out as needed.  I don't have to prep them so on light weeks we just pull those out.

 

With our math program there is virtually no prep time needed at all.   Whatever lesson has already been done includes lots of review.  I just jot a note on a piece of notebook paper if there is an area I need to focus on with them and pull example problems from the book to demonstrate.   If manipulatives are needed we already have them and I just pull those out, too.  The material is mostly review so I might spend just a few minutes teaching the material and the rest of the time the kids are doing the review material.  I am nearby to step in if they hit something they can't remember or can't figure out but they usually do pretty well with the review material.  And I know exactly what we are doing next so I don't have to stress over what else we need to cover since the light units do a really good job of covering each area and reviewing it.

[texasmama]

We need breaks, too.  We will take off a couple of entire weeks and I also like the idea of working on 3-4 days a week on the subjects we are doing.

[displace]

Just maybe build in scheduled breaks.

 

Like, the kids and I all do better in the summer if we know for certain that Friday - Monday (or Friday - Sunday depending on the week) there is no formal school.  Having that block of time on most days is a relief.  We wake up knowing that our time is our own.  We can do whatever floats our boat.  The other three days are absolutely keeping the formal reading/spelling/writing remediation stuff still going as well as math.  If I have it scheduled that way ahead of time and post a calendar on the fridge with the schedule written in we are far less likely to slide things over day after day and then find out a month has gone by with nearly nothing done in the way of reading/math.

 

Last summer we ran into snags, though, and I was not in town for a big chunk.  We lost a lot of ground.  What was funny was DD was asking when we were starting Barton again.  She was eager to get back to Barton and was frustrated that we weren't doing normal lessons.  She doesn't LOVE Barton.  But she really likes the predictability, the routine and the fact that she sees progress with every level we pass.

 

Can you have some review type materials ready to go that can be done with no prep?

 

For instance, with Barton there are practice sheets, card games, and fluency drills, as well as leveled readers that are already ready to go and can be pulled out as needed.  I don't have to prep them so on light weeks we just pull those out.

 

With our math program there is virtually no prep time needed at all.   Whatever lesson has already been done includes lots of review.  I just jot a note on a piece of notebook paper if there is an area I need to focus on with them and pull example problems from the book to demonstrate.   If manipulatives are needed we already have them and I just pull those out, too.  The material is mostly review so I might spend just a few minutes teaching the material and the rest of the time the kids are doing the review material.  I am nearby to step in if they hit something they can't remember or can't figure out but they usually do pretty well with the review material.  And I know exactly what we are doing next so I don't have to stress over what else we need to cover since the light units do a really good job of covering each area and reviewing it.

 

This is a great suggestion to have some scheduled breaks too. 

 

Thankfully our math is just Singapore and we're trucking along without issues so that's fairly minimal prep.

 

Writing is little prep for me.  Implementation takes a bit with the coercion factor, actual writing, plus I'll be doing more activities with helping DS with kinesthetic learning.  I would say easily 30 min per day, with 10 being actual writing.

 

Reading is some prep, with each new concept (one per week of a major reading or spelling rule) craft or activity, new sight words, sight word games, actual reading from books (I aim for 20 min total per day), phonics, dictation (spelling) practice, grapheme review, vocab, nonsense practice review... I would say we work on reading or reading lessons 2 hours per day.  Our schedule takes an average student 30 min per day, but we digress a lot and elaborate a lot and DS needs a lot of breaks.  Plus something that should take 5 min usually takes 2-3 times as long to focus, redirect, decompress, etc.  We haven't yet added in fluency either.  In addition I read aloud which I feel is important, 1-2 hours per day.  Some of that can be substituted to audiobooks in the car but usually we listen to music for appreciation or SOTW (which I guess is technically an audiobook but we've heard it so many times I overlook it). 

 

ETA -- I also try to have lexia computer program 3 times per week but it's purely supplemental and only as a support, not as our core curriculum.

[Heathermomster]

In one of your other threads, you mentioned maybe pursuing a new OT. In my view, summer is the best time to do that.

 

My children need a summer break. DS absolutely demands it now; of course, he also attended Wilson tutoring 4 hours per week during the month of June for 4 consecutive summers followed by six weeks off. Maybe see OT, stick with tutoring 3-4 hours per week, a 10 minute math sheet, and call it good.

 

I expect the first couple of weeks of each new school year to be review, so I don't get upset about that.

[Pen]

This is a great suggestion to have some scheduled breaks too. 

 

Thankfully our math is just Singapore and we're trucking along without issues so that's fairly minimal prep.

 

Writing is little prep for me.  Implementation takes a bit with the coercion factor, actual writing, plus I'll be doing more activities with helping DS with kinesthetic learning.  I would say easily 30 min per day, with 10 being actual writing.

 

Reading is some prep, with each new concept (one per week of a major reading or spelling rule) craft or activity, new sight words, sight word games, actual reading from books (I aim for 20 min total per day), phonics, dictation (spelling) practice, grapheme review, vocab, nonsense practice review... I would say we work on reading or reading lessons 2 hours per day.  Our schedule takes an average student 30 min per day, but we digress a lot and elaborate a lot and DS needs a lot of breaks.  Plus something that should take 5 min usually takes 2-3 times as long to focus, redirect, decompress, etc.  We haven't yet added in fluency either.  In addition I read aloud which I feel is important, 1-2 hours per day.  Some of that can be substituted to audiobooks in the car but usually we listen to music for appreciation or SOTW (which I guess is technically an audiobook but we've heard it so many times I overlook it). 

 

ETA -- I also try to have lexia computer program 3 times per week but it's purely supplemental and only as a support, not as our core curriculum.

 

 

Sounds like you are doing a lot!

 

Could you remind me/us how old your ds is and what his reading level is at this time?

[Pen]

It looks like more votes are in for continuing full on for the learning disabilities, ...

 

 

Yes, if it is an area that you think is important and that can be remediated.

 

Reading was like that for us, and worth doing because once over a certain hump it no longer was something that had to be done, but rather something that just got done...something that now I not infrequently have to get him to stop doing and move to get something else done. (Of course until we reached that point it was only a decision to try it in a major committed way for x length of time and see how much headway could be made.)

 

But I decided that penmanship was not important enough and not likely to be remediated successfully so I let it go completely. (Trying it in a committed way for x length of time made no particular headway at all, and in the 21st century I did not feel like the time and effort were justified to continue.)  Spelling gets only minor attention. They are in the LD group area for my ds, but not worth full on work IMO, for my ds and his situation.

 

Had I decided that reading was not going to be possible for him, I would have dropped that or looked at only trying to get it to the point of a life skill functionality, but moved to all accommodations for schoolwork and fiction etc.

 

Writing as composition was not useful until after reading was remediated, but now is a main focus.

 

So, when I looked at your list, I'd probably not be doing a bunch of the things you are doing, but would keep on with the reading...quite intensely over the summer--  but that is based on how it was with my own ds.

 

Your ds is a different person with different abilities and weaknesses.

[imagine.more]

Our daughter's neuropsychologist told us to never take summer off for her, never more than 2 weeks break at a time really. I clarified with him and he confirmed my plans as a good idea. This is our plan for summer:

 

4-5 Days a Week:

Math- 30 minutes 

Reading (Barton)- 45 minutes

Independent Reading (audiobooks) - 30 minutes

 

And then I'm hoping to provide sensible free time activities for our 2 hour afternoon quiet time. Puzzles, Crochet, Art Projects, Music Journaling (Ana likes to copy songs out in her notebook), Loom Bands, etc. All of these hands-on things really do build fine motor and logic skills imo and are useful ways to fill afternoons and keep their brains going. I'm also wanting to get a few new board games before summer so the kids can do those. 

 

**we also will be doing this "Summer Schedule" August-September because that is when the baby is due. We will do normal school as far into July as I can manage, then start 7th and 2nd and Preschool for real October 1st when the baby will be 8 weeks old and hopefully sleeping better :) **

[displace]

Sounds like you are doing a lot!

 

Could you remind me/us how old your ds is and what his reading level is at this time?

DS is a 6 first grader. Sight words on grade, reading and spelling I'd guess about beginning 1st depending on scope/sequence.

 

I guess my time estimate given before includes breaks and redirection. For instance we sit to go over new sight words. Straight direct instruction should take 5-10 min per word. We have long stories about the word, draw pictures, activities, Lego play, lots of stuff, partially initiated by DS. When it's all said and done we've spent an hour learning 3 words. But DS isn't really working during that time for more than 15 min writing, repeating, memorizing. It's hard to explain but a lot of our reading instruction time is chatting and talking or directed playing about things. It takes a while but DS enjoys it. And his strength is verbal so I go with it.

[PeterPan]

You could adjust that (grade level) and solve some problems.  You're going to have this increasing wall you're hitting of grade level expectations vs. where he's at.  Not saying you have to, just that you could.  If he has ADHD on top of it, you're going to have EF issues affecting his writing, etc. that would make you glad for some extra developmental time.

[AimeeM]

We're starting our new year in a few weeks (kids have finished some things, so why not - lol). 

Other than a few misc weeks off for camps (DD13 attends a few week-long sports camps with some friends), we'll go full time during the summer. I obviously won't object if we make plans for one of the local water parks on any random days, or other fun summer things, but the plan is just to "go on" with what we're doing.

[OneStepAtATime]

DD is asking about ASL so I am looking at starting her in ASL in May and continuing through the summer and into next school year. Any one have feedback on that? I have not done ASL. She has been doing a little bit with her brother using you tube videos. Should she wait on formal instruction until reading/spelling/writing remediation is a bit stronger? We are planning on doing it for HS level credit.

[AimeeM]

DD is asking about ASL so I am looking at starting her in ASL in May and continuing through the summer and into next school year. Any one have feedback on that? I have not done ASL. She has been doing a little bit with her brother using you tube videos. Should she wait on formal instruction until reading/spelling/writing remediation is a bit stronger? We are planning on doing it for HS level credit.

I think ASL would be a great addition for her! I started it with my daughter when she was teeny tiny, and she has always maintained interest.

 

My only caution would be regarding counting it as a high school credit for anything other than an exploratory. I know some (if not many) states will not accept it as a "second language". Bummer for us, as DD is required to have a second language (no IEP in place, since she hasn't been in a school situation where one was needed, so that requirement isn't waived), and her dyslexia makes that a bit tricky.

 

Homeschool Connections offers ASL and you can buy their "all access" for a very reasonable price, if you don't object to it being a Catholic homeschool company.

[OneStepAtATime]

I think ASL would be a great addition for her! I started it with my daughter when she was teeny tiny, and she has always maintained interest.

 

My only caution would be regarding counting it as a high school credit for anything other than an exploratory. I know some (if not many) states will not accept it as a "second language". Bummer for us, as DD is required to have a second language (no IEP in place, since she hasn't been in a school situation where one was needed, so that requirement isn't waived), and her dyslexia makes that a bit tricky.

 

Homeschool Connections offers ASL and you can buy their "all access" for a very reasonable price, if you don't object to it being a Catholic homeschool company.

Thanks Aimee. Appreciate the feedback. And no even though I am not Catholic, Catholic sources do not bother me.

 

As for High school credit, things changed and now I dont know what will be accepted. I am still trying to navigate the waters regarding what will be accepted as a foreign language even at our local State university. Our state changed grad recs just this year and everyone I guess is still working things out.

[FairProspects]

You could adjust that (grade level) and solve some problems.  You're going to have this increasing wall you're hitting of grade level expectations vs. where he's at.  Not saying you have to, just that you could.  If he has ADHD on top of it, you're going to have EF issues affecting his writing, etc. that would make you glad for some extra developmental time.

 

I agree, and humbly suggest that you might want to make the grade adjustment a serious consideration. I don't know about your part of the country, but in ours (suburban, west coast) 30%+ of NT kids are red-shirted, let alone 2Es or LDs. A boy who is still 6 in the spring almost without exception would be a K'er here, not a 1st grader. I don't know if you or dh are open to a grade level adjustment, but if it fits with the culture of your area you might want to have a conversation about it. These issues are not going to be remediated easily and you are pushing up against developmental issues if he stays young for grade too.

[Maela]

Oops!  I just realized that this thread was on the Learning Challenges subforum.  I'm sorry!  I always just look at the New Content.

My plan for the summer is boring, but easy for me:
30 min Khan Academy
One Duolingo lesson
30 min independent reading
30 min read alouds

Every weekday that we don't have something going on already.

 

[Guest2]

I am all over the place for summer plans. Do i push through and try and get another Barton book done for youngers (6-7 for DS 9 for DD2)? Do we have science days and actually get to the experiements sitting in my cupboard? History days where we have colonial food, read alouds and activities from that era and others?

At least one of my dc will start vision therapy this summer, and DD2 wil start dual credit m-th toward the end of summer.

 

Our tentative plans are:

a 4 day week of regular school stuff, Bartons, math, copywork, reading.

A 3 day week of science including lab intensive days for my DD2(16) with barton games which I must buy. We will try to get up and started nice and early so that we can swim and eat popsicles in the afternooons all summer.

A week off for fun, projects around the house

4 days of regular school stuff

3 days of history hands on actitivies

A week off and repeat

 

I'm still working on this, but we need to do some fun things and take a break this summer. Most of the hands on stuff will happen at the begining of summer as I am not sure how it would work around vision therapy and dual credit. Less stress here now that we have decided that a two day school is not happening next year.

[OneStepAtATime]

I am all over the place for summer plans. Do i push through and try and get another Barton book done for youngers (6-7 for DS 9 for DD2)? Do we have science days and actually get to the experiements sitting in my cupboard? History days where we have colonial food, read alouds and activities from that era and others?

At least one of my dc will start vision therapy this summer, and DD2 wil start dual credit m-th toward the end of summer.

 

Our tentative plans are:

a 4 day week of regular school stuff, Bartons, math, copywork, reading.

A 3 day week of science including lab intensive days for my DD2(16) with barton games which I must buy. We will try to get up and started nice and early so that we can swim and eat popsicles in the afternooons all summer.

A week off for fun, projects around the house

4 days of regular school stuff

3 days of history hands on actitivies

A week off and repeat

 

I'm still working on this, but we need to do some fun things and take a break this summer. Most of the hands on stuff will happen at the begining of summer as I am not sure how it would work around vision therapy and dual credit. Less stress here now that we have decided that a two day school is not happening next year.

Sounds like you have a lot to think about Silver Brook.  I wish you the best on making decisions and implementing your plans...

[PeterPan]

I am all over the place for summer plans. Do i push through and try and get another Barton book done for youngers (6-7 for DS 9 for DD2)? Do we have science days and actually get to the experiements sitting in my cupboard? History days where we have colonial food, read alouds and activities from that era and others?

At least one of my dc will start vision therapy this summer, and DD2 wil start dual credit m-th toward the end of summer.

 

Our tentative plans are:

a 4 day week of regular school stuff, Bartons, math, copywork, reading.

A 3 day week of science including lab intensive days for my DD2(16) with barton games which I must buy. We will try to get up and started nice and early so that we can swim and eat popsicles in the afternooons all summer.

A week off for fun, projects around the house

4 days of regular school stuff

3 days of history hands on actitivies

A week off and repeat

 

I'm still working on this, but we need to do some fun things and take a break this summer. Most of the hands on stuff will happen at the begining of summer as I am not sure how it would work around vision therapy and dual credit. Less stress here now that we have decided that a two day school is not happening next year.

Swimming is OT, so sounds like school to me!   :)  Seriously, if you're going to swim, OWN it!  It's superb for bilateral brain integration issues and develops stamina and perserverance.  Very worthwhile.

 

We got very little academics done when we did VT.  Now granted, dd is pretty extreme in her response to things, especially pain.  I'm just suggesting you might make this summer your VT + hands-on and field trips + OT through whole body activities summer.   :)  Barton, I don't know if you'll get to.  If you could even just 20 minutes a day before your VT homework, at least you wouldn't *lose* ground.

 

PS.  If you need magic fairy dust to be confident to do something like that, I have some to give you.  Shake, shake... We'll just put it all over you!   :thumbup: 

 

 

[Guest2]

Swimming is OT, so sounds like school to me! :) Seriously, if you're going to swim, OWN it! It's superb for bilateral brain integration issues and develops stamina and perserverance. Very worthwhile.

 

We got very little academics done when we did VT. Now granted, dd is pretty extreme in her response to things, especially pain. I'm just suggesting you might make this summer your VT + hands-on and field trips + OT through whole body activities summer. :) Barton, I don't know if you'll get to. If you could even just 20 minutes a day before your VT homework, at least you wouldn't *lose* ground.

 

PS. If you need magic fairy dust to be confident to do something like that, I have some to give you. Shake, shake... We'll just put it all over you! :thumbup:

I'll take that fairy dust , thank you! Sunshine and water have to happen. My DD1 (16) is the only one for sure doing VT this summer. We might try for twice a week. She is pretty much done with Barton and so she can do elective things until her dual credit starts or even take the summer off. She may decide to put off dual credit! If she is feeling up to it, she will really enjoy doing some bio.

 

The other kids will probably be on the above schedule. They love to do do hands on stuff , so it will be a blast! Taking more than 2 weeks off means a week of backtracking and frustration when we start up again. Happy summer everyone!