If you take a break from formal school work in the summer, do you sometimes feel like you take on the roll of referee in place of teacher? You aren't the only one! I often have homeschooling moms ask me how to make summer feel more productive and less like a free-for-all. My answer comes from a good friend of mine who has often said, "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail."
Think about that statement. It is really true in every aspect of our lives. Now, I'm not advocating that you schedule every moment of your summer days, weeks and months. I don't even schedule that much detail into my normal school year. But ... it helps to have a general template to follow, and include some regular activities to keep the days in order and give the children benchmarks to follow.
What are some items that you can include in your general template? Well, here are a few suggestions:
- continue the habit of reading aloud together - if you didn't finish all the Read-Alouds from your program in the school year, use your summer to complete them. This might be a great lead-in to a post-lunch quiet time, helping your children calm down and relax during the hottest part of the day.
- don't abandon the chore list! Those everyday and weekly tasks still need to be done, and there may be additional projects that could be completed with the help of your children. This is a valuable part of training them in life skills.
- set regular times for the beach, pool or park, and perhaps invite friends to accompany you. If this activity is scheduled consistently, you shouldn't have to field repeated questions such as "when can we go to ...?"
- focus on Science during the summer - this subject is sometimes one that gets overlooked in the demands of a heavy schedule during school, but it can be a delightful, hands-on project for the summer time, when you can take the time for rabbit trails according to your children's interests.
- planning a road trip? Add some journaling activities for your 3rd-grade-and-older children to help them record the adventure. You can print copies of the road maps you would use and teach the children how to read the maps and mark the route you take. When you stop at various sites, encourage them to collect brochures and take pictures that can then be incorporated in their journal, along with a brief note about their experience. These can be as simple as a pocket folder with notebook paper, maps and brochures, or can grow into a scrapbook of the trip if your child is so inclined.
- find a volunteer opportunity for individual children or the whole family. Whether helping at the local library, the animal shelter or a nursing home, there are a variety of options to demonstrate Christian service and reach out to people.
No doubt you will hear at some point in the summer the inevitable phrase ... "I'm bored." What's your response? Well, my first piece of advice is to limit the amount of electronic entertainment your children are allowed each day. The more time they spend in this way, the more addicted they tend to become, and the less creative they are with unplugged time. Part of your summer plan should include parameters for electronic entertainment. Then supply some craft kits or general creative supplies for your children to use. Another friend shared a wonderful response to this phrase - when one of her children declared his boredom, she would tell him to go outside and play for a bit, and when he came back in she would have a chore for him to do. Oddly enough, he was generally outside for an extended amount of time.
I pray that you have a blessed summer, with an occasional opportunity to sit on the porch with a cool glass of lemonade in hand as you visit with friends and family.
Kelly
