Do your teen kids willingly do school work during the summer

[JadeOrchidSong]

We have schooled somewhat year round until last summer in that we kept Sonlight read Alouds and readers as well as math going during summer. My teenish boys DO NOT want to do school work any more during the summer. They want to have real breaks.

I see some posts about kids doing summer math or summer online classes. I wonder what percentage of teens do this.

I wonder if your teens still do lessons willingly in the summer.

[lllll]

nm

Edited November 30, 2016 by cathey

[SparklyUnicorn]

Yes they do.  They know no other way (11/14).  But there have been summers where it has been very light for one reason or another.  Still didn't matter.  They still do it.

 

I am often amazed that they are cooperative about that.  But in part I think too that summers tend to be very humid here.  So we'll go out to the pool most days and the rest of the day we hibernate in the house.  Not every single day.  We school 4 days a week.  We always have.  Plus they know if something fun comes up we'll take the time off.  I won't say no to it since we have all year to get the stuff done. 

[Ali in OR]

We did some stuff over the summer when the kids were small, but I realized after a few years that *I* need a break. Everyone does some reading. High school kiddo always has a summer reading/project assignment for her honors English class. I'll make her do a little PSAT prep in August. Youngest and I start math and history 3 weeks before public school begins. But mostly we're on vacation.

[marbel]

Around high school age, my kids wanted a break during the summer, just as their schooled friends have.  I'd given up on school in summer because it was just too hard to stay focused between friends, summer camps, my own burnout, etc.  But that said, they will work on specific goals as long as  it doesn't take up their whole summer.   We try to balance it.  Last summer they had to do some math work.  This summer my daughter has a research paper to finish.  Both kids have jobs too, so that affects everything as well.

[SKL]

My kids aren't teens yet, but I'm starting to get push-back from the one who used to be so cooperative.  She is of the opinion that I don't understand what summer vacation is for.  :P

 

(I'm an afterschooler, not a homeschooler, in case that matters.)

 

So I have been wondering what I can do to increase the motivation around here - not including bribes and threats.  :)  I think I will start a spin-off thread.  :)

[purplejackmama]

Ha! Heck no :)

[SparklyUnicorn]

Oh geesh, just realized you said teens.  I do have one teen though.

 

 

[Miss Tick]

We do a light schedule mainly made up of math and foreign languages, but we will still take a for week block totally off. I have to keep explaining that, though.

 

ETA mine are pre-teenish.

Edited June 18, 2016 by SusanC

[HRAAB]

I wouldn't go so far as to say willingly, but they do it without a fight.  Because that's the way it is.  I have one dd finishing up math and Latin.  Had she kept on top of it during the year, she would not be doing it now.  It's only a couple hours in the morning.

[SparklyUnicorn]

My kids NEVER willingly do schoolwork, ANY time of the year. (LOL)

 

Yeah one of my kids is like that.  Not the teen though. 

[Pink and Green Mom]

Mine goes to B&M school and it is like pulling teeth to get him to do the work the teachers require.  He fights every step of the way (the school assigns 2 novels to read and math).

[Arcadia]

My kids are 10 & 11. The library counts my DS11 as a teen because it is 6th grade and up.

 

My neighbors who are in public and private schools are either spending summer with grandparents so not around, or at summer school so only around after dinner. My kids have a lighter summer academic load than their neighbors.

 

So my kids rather do school in the nearby air conditioned local library especially when it is close to 100degF outside. We take a break in late fall.

[AK_Mom4]

No.

Definitely no.

Not willingly. Not during the summer.

 

DD15 would rather scrub bathrooms than pick up anything remotely "schooly" during her time off.

[kewb]

Willingly?  No.  Once the high school years started they would only do over the summer anything they had not finished during the school year.. Usually, math and maybe a book or two.

In fairness, they work full time as lifeguards during the summer so I get that they just want to relax when they get home from work.  However, sometimes you have to suck it up, buttercup.

[nevergiveup]

Why not let them have the summer off?

 

To answer your question:  heck no.  There were always too many things going on in the summer to do "school" work.  Life doesn't exist solely in books.

[JadeOrchidSong]

OP here again. My teen boys, well, 13.5 and 11.5, have two very close friends who are in a public school and a private school respectively. My boys want to have real summer breaks like their friends.

We are still doing some math and Henle Latin. We took the whole month of May off to visit China and Japan. Ds13 has done 2/3 of Jacobs Elementary Algebra, the complete TT algebra 1 and has finished 9.5 chapter of Foerster algebra 1. He did start algebra 1 very young and struggled with it, so he is taking two years to complete algebra 1. I just now bought TT Geometry from ebay for him to start in the fall. Ds11 is finishing the last chapter of Dolcinai Prealgebra; I am very amazed that he did the sine, cosine, tangent so well in Chapter 11. My goal is for them to be almost done with Unit 5 of Henle Latin 1. We would have finished it if not for the May vacation.

But Japan is so worth it! We all love Kyoto very very much! And seeing Japan for real I have come to understand better why it enjoys the highest longevity in the world.

Since we are devoting time to Henle Latin for the remaining days in June, we are not preparing for standardized tests. They won't take the tests until October. Can you tell me if this will be a problem? We tested the end of June last year.

[Luckymama]

Youngest is the outlier. She gets antsy after 2 weeks of nothing academic :lol:

 

The older two definitely needed full breaks from regulated academics! Ds messed around on his laptop (he now earns $$$ in Silicon Valley). Older dd would write and read and write and read (English/French major).

[Hyacinth]

No. Just no.

[Loowit]

My kids would not be happy to do work during the summer.  My teens have too much going on during the summer to get much done any way.  My 13 year old will be gone for a total of 3 weeks, spread out, to different camps and training.  My 15 year old has dance intensives and church camp.  Even my 10 year old has stuff going on.  Now that said, DD does have a bit of science and Irish to finish up before she is totally done for the summer.  It takes her about an hour a day and she should be done in a week or two.  She knew when she got behind it would mean she needed to do stuff during the summer, so she doesn't complain about it.

[madteaparty]

No teens yet and no push back yet but when it happens I will remind him of his friends in cram school 10-2 everyday. He can do this or he can do that.

Eta that we make it fun and break it out. Some school is sneaked in after lake time, some school is in the form of book camp or online G3 seminar which he considers fun. So it's not all dark dreariness looking out the window longing for the sun. We do so little, all the time, that I feel there's really no grounds to complain.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Yes, my teens willingly do school for a couple of hours during the summer.  They are old enough to know why we school year around and why it is important to keep some subjects going. 

[Ailaena]

 

My dd always did school Year round with no issues from when we started until she graduated. Even those summers she traveled she did school right up until she left. Even though gymnastics hours to go daytime hours in the summer, she still did work in the evenings. We always did math, English, and science.

 

But she didn't really have the pull of outside friends and she really appreciated the amount of traveling we got to do. And also the fact that there was never a huge rush to finish things by a certain time since I'm a mastery kind of person. And later on she liked that she could take 2 weeks off during cc finals or AP testing and not "fall behind."

 

Had she asked for a proper summer to relax and go play with friends, I would have considered a small break.

[J-rap]

Not willingly!  The only thing we really ever did over the summer was math, and it was mostly to catch up in order to be on track in the fall.  So, they understood the need to do it, but dragged their feet as much as humanly possible.

[Tap]

My deal with my kids on school in the summer....

They got winter credit for summer work.

 

So if they did 20 lessons in math over the summer, they were 20 lessons ahead for the year, and could use them when ever they wanted. I asked them to do a steady bit of work over the summer, (equiv of 1 solid day of work a week or so) just to keep skills fresh.  But they were working ahead and they got credit for doing so.  

 

Ds used some of his 'credits' but also liked to work ahead so he could graduate early

[Mabelen]

Most of my public schooled 12 year old's friends do some academic work during the summer, it might not be exactly what they do during the school year but academics do go on. We live in an area with high achieving schools and a very thriving private tutoring sector. All this definitely helps my daughter accept to also do school work herself.

[rdj2027]

It depends and our summer school looks different form the rest of the year.  #2 works through the summer to finish geometry.  He is also spending 3 months in Germany to improve his language skills, learn about German culture and politics first hand and hang out with Grandma, cousins and older brother.  #3 is taking the AOPS Alg1 class to get a headstart and a Digital Arts class for fun.  That this will count as a 0.5 Fine Arts credit is a nice side effect.  My daughter is studying French because she will spend her 8th grade year in Germany attending school and French is a required language.  She took French 1 a year ago but wants to refresh and get a little ahead so she won't struggle with it in school.  We will also continue with math as topics are taught in a different sequence and 7th grade here did not cover polynomials and quadratics.  And then there is physics, she may just have to hit that running.  Luckily topics don't necessarily build on each other.

[Arcadia]

When we went back to Asia in May, we double up in March/April. When we take unplanned vacations during term time, kids just "pay back" in June. So no complains about full workload in Summer until work is completed if we took time off during the school year.

[Ivey]

We don't school year-round, but Ds18 (who has learning disabilities) has always been willing to work for an hour or two every morning during the summer. It helped that he's an early riser, so he could often finish his school work before his brothers were even out of bed. 

 

I never asked my other older boys to do any school work during the summer, but I'm sure they would have been much less cooperative. 

[Prairie~Phlox]

My teens don't have time, they all work full time right now.

[4arrows]

Yes and no.  My kids do not like doing any school when they are on official break.  However, we only take about a 6 week break in the summer.  We start school in July and go until Thanksgiving, then we are off from Thanksgiving until New Year.  They like having the two decent-sized breaks instead of one big one in the summer.  

[Carrie12345]

Let's call it... as willingly as they do through the traditional school year, lol.

[jjeepa]

Yep, mine do.  We've always homeschooled year round though, so it's what they are used to.  It is much, much lighter in the summer and it works for us.  

[SunshineMom]

Yes, they are willing to do a couple hours of math and foreign language study during summer however this time is fit around theater camps, orchestra, and sports. They have two weeks free of any responsibilities when they visit their grandmother in July.

Edited June 19, 2016 by Jewels

[madteaparty]

Let's call it... as willingly as they do through the traditional school year, lol.

Quoted for truth!

[prairiewindmomma]

My teen does an hour of math on weekdays when we don't have other major activities going (camps, vacation, all hands work on the house projects).  There have been many years when we have done full school year-round, but we all need a bit of summer right now.  

[JFSinIL]

I'd let them cut back to just math a couple times a week (so they don't forget stuff) - and a few good books that they have to discuss with you or write a paper on. Here, even the public schools are giving the kid's mandatory summer reading lists (usually only two ro three books, combo of fiction and nonfiction). But only if the rest of their time is going to be spent on jobs or sports or other creative activities. No cutting back on school just to veg with electronics. :-)

 

My youngest is now 20, and at the local cc. She carries a full load during the year while working 12.5 hours a week at a public school's am kidkare. This summer she is up to 25 hours work a week at a city park district day camp, and decided to take one of her math requirements as an accelerated summer class, so she doesn't have to do it during the year. Your teens may be willing to crank out a subject during the summer if they then have it done with forever?

Edited June 19, 2016 by JFSinIL

[Miss Mousie]

This is the first time I've required school over the summer.  We're redoing Spanish I because I just don't think he has it solid enough to progress confidently to Spanish II.  Had you asked me last week if he worked willingly, I'd have said yes.   We've been doing it together, and it seemed to be working well that way.

 

But then there was yesterday.... I am so tired of the whining and complaining and lack of effort.  I am almost to the point of letting it drop and having him repeat next year at his own expense - but he doesn't have that much money.  :(  

 

Sorry.  I'm just a bit down about it.  It's so disheartening.

 

[amsunshine]

Yes, mine do school in the summer willingly because it's what we've done from the beginning. However, we definitely do less in the summers than during the regular school year. Each summer is different, but we always at the very least do math and lots and lots of reading and discussion. This year is the first year they've noticed their friends' break times. They don't seem too bothered by it because they know we take breaks of our own whenever it's convenient for birthdays, family visits, busy times during dance rehearsals, etc. They know schooling in the summer helps keep us more flexible during the regular school year.

Edited June 19, 2016 by amsunshinetemp

[JoJosMom]

I only have one; she's 13, almost 14.  She willingly agrees to a light summer schedule. We always continue with some sort of math; like Jean's kids, she's at the stage where she recognizes the need for continuity.  We usually do a fun writing class, but that's going to conflict with camp this year, so she's taking a programming class for fun.

 

(Also, note that she's an only.  She may have a greater need to fill the quiet than other kids with co-conspirators siblings.)

[Mom-ninja.]

My kids never willingly do school work no matter time of year. They do what mama tells them, that's why they do school work. 

[Corraleno]

We've always gone year round, but we also travel a lot, so there are short breaks throughout the year. Plus, we're mostly interest-led so, with the exception of math, they're usually studying what they're interested in anyway. DS is currently immersed in the history of the Greek language, using a 1600-page text from Cambridge University that he asked for as a birthday present; if he keeps going with that over the summer and writes a paper, I will give him credit for it. But he would be doing that "for fun" anyway, whether he gets formal credit or not. He's also doing several Great Courses on world religions, and will probably have enough work for a full credit by the end of the summer. He's reading Norse sagas and reviewing Old Norse (he did Norse 1 and about half of Norse 2 a couple of years ago); the sagas will go towards a credit in Epics in World Literature. For math he's mostly doing SAT prep over the summer. DD is only in middle school, so I don't worry about "credits." She does math and grammar formally, plus some Spanish, and the rest is reading and writing and documentaries and a lot of art. Both kids do science classes with labs at a local co-op, so we don't do much in the way of science in the summer other than TC lectures, documentaries, or science museum visits.

 

[kroe1]

DD16 readily continued school throughout the summer every year. We would scale back a little for summer camps only. She graduated high school at age 15. She is very thankful she kept going during the summers.

[Liza Q]

Yes, my teens willingly do school for a couple of hours during the summer.  They are old enough to know why we school year around and why it is important to keep some subjects going. 

 

My crew knew that in order to have the whole summer off, they would need to do more work during the school year and we would no longer keep a relaxed pace, or be able to go on vacation in September of January. But I always work in about 4 weeks off completely over June-July-August. This year we are off last week and this week. Then we are working steadily for 7 weeks - a few hours a day, 4 days per week. Then 2 more weeks off in early August. Then we will stagger the start of next years classes and be up to full blast by mid-September.

 

[MEmama]

Mine wants to, but honestly he's too busy with sports, volunteering, visitors, etc.

 

*I'm* thankful to get a break! He'd have me doing geometry all summer otherwise.

[FriedClams]

Where's the rolling, crying, laughing head emoji??

 

 

We're SO BUSY this summer we couldn't school. I think what they're doing is very valuable but not really academic.

[KarenC]

We do math year round.  We also start on AP classes in mid-July.  They do it, but not always cheerfully.  :lol:

[Haiku]

Mine do. We school year-round, four weeks on, one week off. My kids like having frequent breaks, and the price of that is working through the summer.

 

They also see schooled kids get insanely bored over summer break, and they like that their lives are pretty much the same year-round (although busier during hockey season) and don't have regular, big transitions.

[fairfarmhand]

HA!

 

No way. I like a summer break as much as they do. I don't want to be grading and teaching right now either.

 

I was thinking of a leisurely summer.

 

Nope. I've been painting, gardening, mowing, deep cleaning, What happened to that idea?

 

 

[goldberry]

DD was a staunch opposer to any summer school work.  I mean, the mere mention of it made her violent.  In 8th grade, she took on a very time consuming extracurricular.  The bargain to continue was that she do some work during the summer.  

 

Then, she fell in love with math, and decided that math in the morning "cleared her head".  She does math every so often during the summer for that purpose, even though that is not a subject she is behind in.  Heaven forbid she pick up a book voluntarily.  :glare: