Pro/Con of Summer breaks

[lulalu]

Ok so I am always seeing people say they school through summer. Wondering what the pros and cons are of working through summer. 

We took a month off to move internationally this spring, and ds lost all the hard work on his Penmanship! So I see the perks of keeping going. 

But.... there are benefits to doing nothing 

Anyone long term wish they kept going all summer or do you feel it pushes too much and a break is needed for boredom sake?  

[Ellie]

30 minutes ago, lolo said:

Ok so I am always seeing people say they school through summer. Wondering what the pros and cons are of working through summer. 

We took a month off to move internationally this spring, and ds lost all the hard work on his Penmanship! So I see the perks of keeping going. 

But.... there are benefits to doing nothing 

Anyone long term wish they kept going all summer or do you feel it pushes too much and a break is needed for boredom sake?  

For me, a year means January 1 through December 31. It did not make sense to me that a "school year" was September through May or June. o_0 

So, we "started" around the middle of January; took off a couple of weeks in the Spring around Easter; took off a couple of weeks in late August/early September; and Thanksgiving to the middle of January. We also took off for random mental health days, especially in the middle of the week in March to go to Disneyland, or visit with the grandparents, or whatever.

We just kept working on stuff until we finished or got tired of something, and then we moved on to the next thing. I "promoted" in the fall for the sake of grandparents and Sunday school teachers and random people who only know how to describe children by grade level (" Presto change-o! Now you're a Fourth Grader! Go forth and prosper!"), but of course the children worked on things based on ability, not on "grade level."

Keeping our regular routine in the summer helped keep us sane. :-)  But because we were learning all the time, I did not mind taking off those random days to do nothing.

[Lori D.]

Well, we could have *tried* to school year-round, but in the end, the path of least resistance was to follow the traditional school year schedule. When DSs were young, it was the only way to be able to see some of their friends who were in a B&M school. When DSs were in middle/high school, they were involved in some extracurriculars and programs that were attached to the traditional school schedule, so again, it just made it easier to participate if we were schooling mostly during the traditional 9-month school year.

And, *I* needed the summer break -- to recharge and relax, and to research, plan, and prepare for the next year. We spread out our school year from mid-Aug through end of May, which allowed us a full week at Thanksgiving, 3 weeks at Christmas, a week of spring break, and a number of "let's take a day off" days during the school year. Two years during the high school years, we took extended special family trips (3 weeks) during the school year, so we went a few weeks into June to finish up the Math, English, and Science credits those 2 years.

BEST of luck in finding what works best for YOUR family! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[Peaceseeker]

Pros- I need a long break from teaching school

Cons- my kids do not need a long break from doing school

We have done both over the years depending on whose needs are greater.  When they were younger we had more of a year round ebb and flow.  When they got older and activities dominated the schedule, it started feeling more like a traditional school year and we all needed a break by summer.  I know that there will be a price to pay if we take a long break from math. 

That being said, there have been a couple of years where I was so burnt out on homeschooling that I needed a long summer off for my own mental health.  So I just accepted the fact that there would be wasted time on review and some wailing and gnashing of teeth come fall, but enjoyed my time off anyways. I was willing to pay the price for a couple of solid months of peace and relaxation.  

[MerryAtHope]

I did shorter summer breaks of 6 weeks (which still required review when we started back up, but not as much was lost as with a typical 10 week or so break). That allowed us to take more frequent breaks throughout the year (most of the time we did 4.5 days of school per week, and had fun with friends Friday afternoons). 

[hollyhock2]

I've been homeschooling 11 years and I've been taking all summer off for the last 5 years (since my youngest was born). When my kids were smaller, it was easier to go through summer because their school work was more fun. One summer we did a botany science book with lots of hands-on, because summer is when the plants are around. That kind of thing. But as they get older, they want the break, and now I would feel bad taking that away from them. Also, since my youngest was born, I have needed the break because schooling four with an extra little one was hectic enough for nine months of the year. And then I was diagnosed with a chronic condition involving fatigue, so that didn't help either. And honestly, I haven't had too many problems with retention over summer. Each family is different, so figure out what works for you and go with that.

[regentrude]

We never did normal school in summer because we traveled a lot, but we always did *something*. I see no benefit of taking three months off math, and reading is part of our lifestyle. Our "summer school" involved lots of reading, field trips, museums, nature centers, and a little bit of math every day. My kids craved intellectual stimulation and wanted to do something educational.

[Closeacademy]

We've only taken summer breaks like twice over the years. My kids get bored plus you end up having to do all that review in the fall. We actually only do school a couple of hours a day in the summer normally. When they were little we'd take off between Thanksgiving and the New Year because Christmas was such an exciting time they couldn't concentrate anyway. Worked out better that way.

Even when we swam a lot, we'd do schoolwork in the morning, have lunch then go to the pool for the afternoon. 

[Another Lynn]

Cons - a little slippage

Pro - sanity saver

And, depending on the temperatures where you are, maybe it makes more sense to take off April/May (in the south - enjoy the spring!) and start back up in June/July.  Ultimately, our activity choices determined our break.  May has become our "time to lighten the load for sanity's sake" month.  Summer swim runs from first of June until 2nd or 3rd week of July.  Then we started going to a writing camp that's always the last week of July and we start back up the week after that.  I agree with pp to keep the break short or to do learning differently during the break.      

[fourisenough]

When young (under 12), my kids have always had summers busy with swim team, softball league, specialty day camps (musical theater, Shakespeare, tennis, etc.), and one week of sleep away camp. I dutifully try to keep up skill work and free reading around their schedules so that they get a change of pace and have a big break from school, but don't lose too much ground.

After about age 12, summers serve a different purpose. My aspiring ballerina is now traveling to summer intensives: five weeks last year and nine weeks this year. My older girls have worked to earn money, spent significant time prepping for SAT/ACT, and volunteered to earn community service hours or career-related experience. For the older kids, the life experience is more valuable than doing school during summer. They don’t seem to be set-back by the time off; in fact, they always seem to have significant leaps in ability and maturity after a summer break.

[lmrich]

We take 6 weeks off and then start back with math. My oldest finished Algebra 2 las week, and we will start Pre-Calc July 10. She will also start back with Homeschool Spanish then. I really like to start math early so we can work at her pace and not feel the pressure to cram more and more in during the school year. She tends to get sick often so it is another reason to start early. 

[ktgrok]

I feel a break is needed. I see developmental leaps after a break, with my kids. And yes, I think boredom is beneficial. BUT, I think maybe the length of a traditional summer break is too long. 

so we take off from Thanksgiving to New Years every year, and then take a shorter break in the summer. About a month. 

And we will still be doing reading on a daily basis, just not formal reading lessons. We will do review work and reading in decodable texts, library books, etc. I wouldn't even be that formal but she is behind grade level so we are working hard. In future years I would just have her do independent reading daily. 

 

[ktgrok]

Yeah, I will say summer break is something I need, more than the kids. I need a chance to NOT do teaching for a bit, and then some time to plan for next year. I firmly believe in seasons in life, and I need a season of rest, exploration, etc. And more than anything I need a season to be JUST my kids' mom, not their teacher. 

[HomeAgain]

Summer is for projects and downtime here.  There's a lot of applied learning (like ds is doing a weekly gardening program this summer), but I really appreciate the break.  It means we get to rest our brains for a bit.  I'll make lesson plans for next year and listen to podcasts and read, ds will spend as much time as possible out of doors.  He'll keep up music lessons, and a little bit of Latin, but that's about it for "real" school.  I have a few books I'm reading to him but nothing too taxing.

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

We do school in the summer but it looks significantly different than what we do during the traditional school year. We do lots of field trips, a week at VBS, usually a unit study of some type (Olympics, State history, this year is Beautiful Feet Geography), a little Math (2x/week) music practice, and read lots of books. It ends up being 1-2 hours a day, 3-4 days a week. We also take a week or two off before and after “summer school”. This year oldest DD is spending a week at art camp and we’re moving. I keep the school work light so we can keep up on skills but still have time to enjoy the weather, the pool, the beach, and time with friends. 

[freesia]

20 minutes ago, Ktgrok said:

Yeah, I will say summer break is something I need, more than the kids. I need a chance to NOT do teaching for a bit, and then some time to plan for next year. I firmly believe in seasons in life, and I need a season of rest, exploration, etc. And more than anything I need a season to be JUST my kids' mom, not their teacher. 

Me, too 

I have always either been in school or taught. Summers off is part of my life rhythm. I need at least 8 weeks off to decompress and plan. Prepping and writing syllabuses pays off with teaching four. My kids enjoy more time with friends and visits to relatives and VBS. 

Now, we do keep reading and doing read aloud. I have always required handwriting practice bc that is a weakness of ours. Some kids have done typing over the summer. Some have kept going with xtra math if they aren't done a section. Sometimes, for instance with long division, I will give a problem on Monday and if they get it right they don't have to do. Another until the next week and if they get it wrong we do one a day. 

Ill also get a wide variety of non-fiction out and strew it around or bring out unused science kits. 

All of that is just family culture and would happen even if we didn't school. I also put it aside if we are busy with other things 

the chief goal of summer is to decompress and I just want to be mom for a while. 

[JennyD]

Like others, we used to have a much more year-round schedule but have over time shifted to a more traditional school year.  We are tied to the schedule of the school where my kids attend part-time, for one thing, but beyond that, we all just need a break.  

Over the summer my kids do lots of music practice, a little bit of math, and tons of reading.  They also have plenty of unstructured time to do all of their crazy projects without me hustling them around.  

[LuvToRead]

When my girls were younger, we did school through the summer.  Now that they are teenagers, we don't have the time.    We try to fit fun educational stuff in, though.  DD13 is doing  a program through the local park service.  DD16 has a job, so not much down time for her, but she is also going to an academic (sort of) summer camp.  DD13 also volunteers at the library.  Plus we go on  hikes, work on our photography skills, work on 4-H projects, stuff like that.

[PeterPan]

It doesn't have to be NOTHING, lol. Many people whose kids are in school do just a small amount (20-40 minutes) a day. We've schooled year-round for years, but we don't necessarily keep the same load in the summer.

[Mimm]

I always wanted to do more school work in the summer than we ended up doing. We could never seem to pull it off. Everyone needed to put the books away, take a breather, and just be. We always did a lot of swimming, participated in the library summer reading program, etc. Our co-ops always took the summer off. And we made plans for the coming year. We got excited about new things, and we threw a back to school party for ourselves. Having the summer off meant we were able to be refreshed and ready for the next year.

I always planned to do school in the summer, but maybe it's for the best that we didn't. ?

 

[EKS]

I actually found summer break to be helpful in identifying things that hadn't really stuck the year before.  When you go to reteach those things, you'll find that they're not really gone completely because it will be far easier for the kid to learn it the second time around.

[73349]

One pro I've found is that those extra ~45 days let us keep the school day a little shorter the rest of the year. I have a kid who does really well with consistent structure and only moderate demands on his stamina, so it's been worthwhile so far. I deliberately do some different things in July and August--units from Moving Beyond the Page, etc., that we wouldn't otherwise get to.

I agree that as kids get older, there are more opportunities that make doing less school worthwhile. I don't expect to go year-round if we homeschool for high school.

[Ellie]

11 hours ago, Ellie said:

For me, a year means January 1 through December 31. It did not make sense to me that a "school year" was September through May or June. o_0 

So, we "started" around the middle of January; took off a couple of weeks in the Spring around Easter; took off a couple of weeks in late August/early September; and Thanksgiving to the middle of January. We also took off for random mental health days, especially in the middle of the week in March to go to Disneyland, or visit with the grandparents, or whatever.

We just kept working on stuff until we finished or got tired of something, and then we moved on to the next thing. I "promoted" in the fall for the sake of grandparents and Sunday school teachers and random people who only know how to describe children by grade level (" Presto change-o! Now you're a Fourth Grader! Go forth and prosper!"), but of course the children worked on things based on ability, not on "grade level."

Keeping our regular routine in the summer helped keep us sane. ? But because we were learning all the time, I did not mind taking off those random days to do nothing.

Let me also add that we went to the library every Wednesday, did a field trip every Thursday, and cleaned house on Friday, so continuing to "do school" was no big deal. :-)

[Arcadia]

DS12 has always needed more time per subject so Summer was for front loading the work so that he has a lighter academic schedule during the school year. It’s too hot to do anything but study in an air-conditioned room (library or school). All the summer pre-teens events we go to are at places like community college and library. This kid has to do math year round and some spelling or he “forgets everything”

DS13 just rather study and read year round. He is just sedentary like my husband. Even for summer camps he would pick the academic ones. 

We do our family vacation in Fall when my husband typically has to travel for work and we get to tag along. We also take Christmas break off to recharge and go on short road trips. We do take some work along though in case “workaholic” DS13 gets bored.

ETA:

i get breaks when kids are at summer events, classes and camps. DS13 plans his own academic subjects while DS12 will take whatever I pick as long as he doesn’t need to do the planning. So planning takes me very little time. 

[4KookieKids]

I'm going to throw out a different perspective than most here: I started with summer breaks and have now nixed them. I nixed them unwillingly and gradually, each year giving them less and less but still hoping to give them a summer break. Last year, we did three weeks of summer break before I lost my mind and started school again. We don't school for 6 hours a day - 3 hours tops - and maybe we'll lean the other way and give a longer break again as more years pass and my kids get into middle/high school, but this is where we are now. Our schooling gives structure to our day that my kids seem to need. I love the idea of letting kids be bored and then figuring out what to do with themselves, and I've always had a bent towards unschooling sort of philosophies, so this has been painful for me. But lacking structure does not work for my kids in doses of longer than 1 hour at a time. When they get too bored, they become mean, snide, destructive, whiney, aggressive, and generally start acting like little brats. Furthermore, even my kiddo who doesn't get bored because can amuse himself four hours at a time playing legos or reading or making up his own games and can certainly find something to keep himself busy starts to act out when he gets to spend his entire day in his own pursuits and his day lacks clear structure and routine. I feel like it goes against everything I want to be true, but this has been our experience thus far at least. I was actually talking about it with DH just this weekend; I feel like I'm almost grieving the homeschool ideas/picture I had for us that I've tried to make work for years, and have just found that my kids need more structure/rigidity than is my natural bent. We do frequently take one week off at different times throughout the year or for a summer camp or something, and then usually spend another full week making up for it and getting back into the groove. It annoys my kids to have to tell their friends that they can't do (blank) because they start their days with school still, but they also have chosen to quit their "summer break" early they last few years, because they also hate the feelings and bad attitude they get after a few weeks of break.

[Loowit]

We worked through one summer and I don't want to do it again.  I like having the break.  Usually I really need the break by then and so do the kids.

We somewhat keep to, but not identical to, the local school calendar.  As the kids have gotten older this has been more helpful.  Most of their activities are based on the assumption of certain times/days off to do activities.  Youth group, scouts, and all of that work around a school schedule.  I also like time between scheduled things like camp to just be and not have anything we have to do.  I also like just being mom for a while. It is hard when I am teacher to balance with my kids, so getting to take a step back from that is helpful.

This summer my oldest is hoping to get a job to help pay for college so she will be gone a lot.  My other two are going to be helping me with outdoor projects to help get our house ready to put on the market.  They also have summer camps and other fun things.  By the time fall rolls around I will be refreshed and ready to get back to work.

[silver]

Pros of year round:

• My kids do better with structure. After one week of a break, they don't know what to do with themselves and turn to bickering and bad attitudes. 
• No forgetting everything over long breaks. 
• Schooling year round lets us schedule school for only four days a week and still get plenty of school in.
• Schooling year round lets us put breaks whenever we need them, or when we want to travel. My family loves fall camping, and we can take a fall break to accommodate this. 
• Schooling year round gives me something to do. We had a week break last week and then also Memorial Day this last Monday. By the end of it, I felt kind of lost/unproductive. 
• There are days in the summer where it's so hot we'd rather just stay indoors. Might as well be productive and get school done those days. We can take a break in the Spring, when the weather is actually nice. 

Cons of year round:

• For some kids (not mine), the long summer break gives them time to really start to get creative and dig into interests.
• No long break/recharge for mom or the kids (we manage this con by either slowly winding down or slowly wrapping up a year. So even though we're doing school year round with only week long breaks here and there, we have some periods that are "lighter" than others)
• Everyone else in our world (summer camps, extended family, etc) seems to see summer as the time to try to do everything. So we're busy in the summer (group camping trips, family reunions, etc) and we're also doing school.

[Marthamom]

We, too, take a week off here and there year round rather than go full tilt Sept through May with the summers off.  We do take more time off in the summer than in the winter but still get a good amount of academic work done.  Makes the winter months of academic work less fatiguing and stressful.  

[rocassie]

I have found when my kids are/were in the younger elementary ages, schooling through the summer was ideal.  School at the most took 1-2hours so often I would do it in the afternoon during the hottest part of the day.  Morning and late afternoon/evenings were for being outdoors.  With schooling year round, I only school M-Th as a general rule, and in the summer I only did M-W, with a beach day or outdoor field trip on Thursdays.  Since the kids were constantly learning new things, I found it helped to not have to long of a break.  However, now that I have only one that age, the two older kids as well as I need a longer break so I make sure to take a whole month off.  I pair down to the basic, and we actually do school first thing so they have a good chunk of time to get into some creative pursuits or head to the beach. 

[lavender's green]

I like the theory of 6 weeks on, one week off, year round. My kids need structure and school has a lot of that built-in. Also, why spend spring and fall doing school when summer here is stinkin' hot? And of course, retention.

However, I found that we all do better with a break, a good long one. A week or a mental health day here and there just doesn't cut it for us. I need a while to be just mommy, and my kids come back stronger when they've had a chance to process things in the back of their brains. Also, since we started summer break, my kids have had a huge burst creativity. It's pretty cool to watch.

I personally think that 10 or so weeks is too long for a break, but that's when everyone else is doing it, and community is important. Friends, family, neighbors, kid activities, vacations, summer camps (for most of the year, you can't just decide that your kids are getting in your hair and you'll just stick them in camp for a week or four). Might as well get your fill in the summer when the rest of your community is.

 

[daijobu]

In elementary we were always finished with schoolwork by noon.  In middle school it was more like 2pm, if not sooner.  So I'm not asking a lot by schooling through the summer.  

Pros

1. what everyone else said
2. we still took breaks for the occasional trip or week of camp
3. I can be more relaxed during the proper school year for spontaneous field trips or just days off from school.  I know I'll be making it up, and then some, in the summer
4. You never know when finishing a year long curriculum ahead of time will come in handy.  Better to be ahead of schedule, than fall behind and need to catch up.

Cons

It doesn't work for your family.

[Targhee]

In the past we slowly tapered off in June, had July off, and gradually ramped up in August.  It was great because I needed the break, and the kids probably did too.  I like to contemplate the year, completed and upcoming, and research and plan.  Now we have ties with the schools so we follow the school calendar (mid Aug through late May).

They have more public school friends now too (we moved and lost our HS community), so it is easier to do things with them during the school district breaks.  And we don’t have the amazing offerings for HSers that we did in the PNW, so we don’t have very many field trip and “slough” days during the year so we are tired by the end.

[sbgrace]

I imagine the weight of pro and con really varies by kid/parent/family dynamic and also age. 

We have schooled year round from the start (entering 9th grade now), but it's been different as they've aged.

The main pro for my situation is flexibility. Some examples:

-we can take trips in the off season

-I can give kids time off or reduced school as needed for activities--for example, when my son is preparing for a robotics competition, or when distant family are off from school and visit

-I can build more margin into my special needs kid's day, and he does better with routine

-when dad is home for holidays public school kids don't get, we can take school off for fun family stuff

--A lot of my kids activities are much more time intense in the school year-generally summers give us more time day in and out, for school work. 

--We can make faster progress if the kids are ready or slow a course down as needed. 

I didn't feel there were any major cons when my kids were younger. As we bumped into middle school age, and increasing each year I think, there have been a few cons.

--overall, it works out well in terms of balancing school year activities with year round school. However, as they kids have gotten older, there are many more summer opportunities. Weekly events, camps of all sorts, competitions, friend stuff (particularly public school friend stuff) etc.  We take those opportunities gladly. But it means more work gets shifted to the school year. 

---I think we need to watch so neither I nor the kids burn out. I find, as we've gotten older, we probably need more breaks. The learning is just more intense, the workload heavier, and hormones are bears generally. I do school on Saturdays when we're available. That probably adds to the whole thing. 

--related to that, planning is harder for me. I don't have the downtime I would have if we weren't school year round. 

[MistyMountain]

I do not keep a full load in the summer but do not take off completely. As I finished things they got dropped except for math and learning to read for the one child that needs that. If we have plans that day like camping that interfere then we do nothing but otherwise I read aloud and do math and phonics in the morning and we have all day to do fun stuff. We can take trips whenever we want. 

[Clemsondana]

I've found that my kids don't do well with short (1-2 day) breaks - they may enjoy it, but it throws the week off from our usual routine, and they don't tend to want to do anything (fun or household project) because they want the day to relax.  We do some trips as part of school, but those involve schoolwork in the car.  So, all of our breaks are at least a week long.  We start the first Monday in August and don't break until we take a week at Thanksgiving.  After that, it's 2-3 more weeks, and then 3 weeks at Christmas.  Then we plow through the spring semester.  If we take a trip over spring break, it's usually somewhere with museums or national parks, so we do math and language arts in the car or on the plane and then count it as school.  We finish our school year in mid-May, and often by the end we're only finishing up the last bit of a couple of subjects.  

That being said, my kids read all summer.  Sports and music lessons continue - sometimes on a more mellow summer schedule, and other times more intensely because there is more time.  We're still working on scout merit badges.  In between camps, I've tried to get the kids on a schedule where they get up and get dressed and practice or exercise first thing so that the rest of the day is free.  There is a practice or lesson several evenings each week, so that bit of structure is still there.  After a week or 2 of lazing, the kids are also more willing to help with bigger projects.  We spent the morning working on cleaning and rearranging the playroom/schoolroom.  It will take a few more days, but it wasn't the fight that it would have been if I'd dumped it on them during a short break.  

We also do a good bit of gardening.  Right now is actually a slow time since everything is planted but nothing is ready, but it's nice that, if the garden is ready during July like it usually is, we're not doing school while I'm trying to put up most of the veggies.  If the garden comes in late, well, those few weeks in August when I'm up early to pick peas and beans, then I shower and teach the kids, then spend the afternoon shelling, snapping, blanching, and freezing, give me a while new respect for our grandmothers.  

[ScoutTN]

We do some light school in the summer, with three weeks completely off for VBS and camps.

We NEED the change of pace! Swim team, camp, and other summer activities are fun! Education in another form. Lovely and rich experiences of childhood. Making up popsicle recipes, catching lightning bugs, playing in the creek, fishing, pool parties, grilling out, canoe trips, minor league baseball games....

But a typical 10-12 week complete break is unhelpful because my kids lose too much ground. We need some structure and summer studies help with that. 

We always do history, read alouds (which are not school, just life, for us) and a project or two. Dd is doing Latin and Ds math this summer. 

[Garga]

The older the kids get, the more I need a long break.  I’ll spend a good month figuring out which currics to buy, and then planning out how to use them. I need a big chunk of time to do that.

Last year I let the kids do whatever they wanted on their summer break and they didn’t do much of anything and they regretted it.  So this year, we have a summer schedule.  The sorts of things on the summer schedule are things like deliberate exercise, some cleaning/decluttering projects, reading books, a tiny bit of math for the one student, volunteering at the SPCA, working on writing stories (for the one who feels he never has time to write for fun during the school year), etc.  There is always time every day for goofing off and doing whatever they like. I can also count some of the projects we’re doing toward a home ec credit for the high schooler.  

Bottom line: we are keeping busy, but it’s not the same old daily grind of the school year.  We step away from the subjects they do in school and do entirely different things, but things that are also worthwhile that we have zero time for in the school year (except for the 3 daily word problems for my rising 8th grader.)

[Garga]

2 hours ago, OKBud said:

As a rule, I consider us year-round homeschoolers, but we have taken big breaks off from school days before, and they've been great. 

My kids don't do the sit around and get bored and come up with something for themselves thing, though. I could have spent 90% of my childhood being loosey-goosey and reading or playing depending on how the wind blew (adulthood too, TBH) so I don't really get it. But OHMYGOODNESS my kids don't do that! They spiral out of control emotionally without structure. 

So when we take a big break, I keep all the structure just not the school. It can be simple like... Wake up, breakfast, watch a show, clean up, go to the beach, eat lunch, read/play for two hours, play a board game, dinner, go for a walk, get ready for bed, read, sleep. .... Whatever it is, the point is that every day, just like school days, will have an expected rhythm it that we can discuss the night before, and that (most important!) *I* come up with, not them. 

Rhythm, really, is the key to all happiness in our house. We rarely know where we'll be from one year to the next, or whether their dad will be around or not (mil) and who ever knows what's going on with friends and where they are, etc... but dang if my kids don't know what to expect from day to day! So maybe other situations are more stable in other ways, and that gives other families more flexibility to healthily work with on a day-to-day basis! 

For anyone, I think it's really good once the kids are approaching the "tween" ages to have something that's on-going as a family. An activity or something. Books and TV shows lend themselves to this, obviously. We've worked through books series together.... right now we're watching all the Star Trek ? . In the past we've had small building projects that we only did as a group (the kids and I). But do you know what I mean? So that even when school isn't what-we-are-doing, the family is coming together daily and working toward something. 

 

This is our first week off and that’s how we’re doing it—creating a rhythm.   During the school year, I make an Excel chart of the schedule for the day.  And I’m doing an Excel chart for each day of the summer as well, though it’s slightly different.  

On my summer chart there are columns for each of us.  The top part of the column is “work to do alone” and lists chores or books for each specific person to read.  The bottom part of the column is “work to do together” like bible reading, cooking dinner, etc.  

My kids respond much better to specifics that I have created for them.  Some of the items on the chart are things that they said they wanted to do “play board games”, and there is time each day when all the items on the chart are done to just laze around or do whatever they like.  But I agree with you for my kids: they like a bit of structure, and they like for me to guide them in what to do, mixed in with free time.  

[zarabellesmom]

We mostly take summers off. Until last summer we took summers completely off and found it completely frustrating when no one could math when we came back. Then my youngest daughter was found to be dyslexic and tutoring absolutely had to continue over the summer. We decided to stick with math and tutoring for dyslexia over the summer and it worked out really well so we are attempting to do that this summer as well. It's a little more complicated this year as my oldest has four weeks of dance intensives and is pretty wiped out when she gets home. Luckily, it seems like a little summer math goes a long way.