How to Have the Best Homeschool Summer Ever!

Do you begin each summer with all the plans and it just falls apart? Keep reading for some easy ways to have the best homeschool summer ever!

Every year I gear up for our summer with these brilliant ideas of a summer rhythm, school-year-round plans, or bucket lists (there is a fun one). And within the first two weeks it becomes abundantly clear that IT AIN’T GONNA HAPPEN LIKE THAT.

HOW IT BEGAN…

Even this summer, I began with what I thought was a simple daily rhythm to have the best homeschool summer ever. It looked something like this…

• Bible / Spiritual Formation: Read their bible daily and a missionary biography. Our youngest practices his catechism and memory work from Sunday school.
• Math: each one spends about 10-15 minutes on some form of math
• Read: 20-30 minutes of reading each day
• Write: A short story, a letter to someone, or what they are thankful for. Simple, right?
• Responsibility: Each kid assigned a zone to maintain. The oldest has the yard and garage. Our middle son has the front porch and back deck. And our youngest helps me in the kitchen and with the van.

Sounds simple, right? 10-30 minutes in each category makes for about an hour and 15 minutes of the day.

Then. Why. Is. It. So Hard?

My best guess is that a lot stems from me. I am not a schedule person. Barely a routine person. There are things I need to do in a day and I just do them. So, I can’t expect the same from my kiddos. But I think after our school year wraps up my brain just needs a break from micromanaging tasks.

I thought this was a compromise that would still be easy to maintain. Yet, it seems like all of the variables we encounter seem to sabotage my best efforts. Daily.

So, the best homeschool summer starts with a shift in your perspective. Its tempting to plan all the things, isn’t it? Do you run with the goals and start assigning methods to reach them? What is the goal?

THE BEST HOMESCHOOL SUMMER IS SIMPLE

What started out as a read something/write somethings/math something/clean something daily goal has turned into simply…HAVE FUN.

Thankfully the boys are willing (most often) to help me with something when I ask. When asked to do something, they tend to do it joyfully and quickly. Don’t get me wrong. They still grumble or bicker on occasion. But those are opportunities to minister to their heart and shape their character.

So, instead of assigning things to do every day, the perspective has shifted to doing something each day. Primarily, the goal is that summer is a time to play, spend time out of doors, swimming with friends, building, creating, getting dirty. That is the goal.

THE BEST HOMESCHOOL SUMMER IS FLEXIBLE

You can’t have the best homeschool summer ever if an expectation is set to do x, y, z, and then it is a daily struggle to be met. Rather, when you start each day with freedom to do whatever, and you have a few tricks up your sleeve to redirect the day, then flexibility becomes your friend and each day is a good day.

THE BEST HOMESCHOOL SUMMER IS STOCKED AND READY

Think of what your family naturally does over the summer months. It may look like this…

• fishing at the river
• days at the pool
• backyard camping
• firepits
• art
• watching movies
• sleepovers with friends
• hiking
• handcrafts outside
• eating

Next, jot down or think of the things necessary to make any one of those happen spontaneously or on short notice. Are they already on hand, or do you need to pick up some supplies?

When you have all you need to be able to say yes to one of the things your kids want to do, you are set to make for a memorable summer.

THE BEST HOMESCHOOL SUMMER STARTS WITH BOREDOM

Boredom is a good thing. It gives birth to creativity. This is the beginning of the best homeschool summer ever.

You are not the summer fun coordinator of every hot minute. Kids go from their days all planned to having more margin in their day. As a result, they will be bored. This is a good thing! It may be tricky at first when they are constantly bugging you for what to do. As you offer them chores to do or suggestions for doing a research paper on the effects of childhood boredom, they soon find their own things to do.

THE BEST HOMESCHOOL SUMMER IS WORRY-FREE

A common phrase is the “summer slip” where it is assumed that kids lose some of the knowledge they gained during the school year. I think a lot of that has to do with the education philosophy of the family and the atmosphere.

If you believe that education is just a means of acquiring knowledge to reproduce answers, then yes, perhaps some of that is lost because it was never really held on to in the first place. However, if you see education as an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life, connections are being made every day through the science of relations.

As a result, the best homeschool summer ever happens naturally when fishing at the river turns into a naturalist experience as everyone identifies all the flora and fauna they are familiar with. Days at the pool spur a discussion about pool and sun safety. Rainy days make room to pull out the handcrafts. Read-alouds around the campfire as the sun goes down. Backyard movie nights with a historical drama. Also, cooking science and math.

You can have the best homeschool summer ever if you leave room for it to happen by keeping it simple, staying flexible, being prepared, and not worrying about checking all the boxes.

Remember momma, keep your eyes on Christ!