Ok, maybe that’s a little harsh – but I’m sure your kids will relate. They think that they deserve a break after a long tough school year. But there are benefits for you and them if you pick up a few books over the summer.
There’s nothing like fighting the feeling that your brain has become soggy as you try to get started at the beginning of a new year. If fact if it weren’t for the treasure of a new box of 64 Crayola’s I don’t think I would’ve made it some years.
You can avoid this by just taking a little time each week – not even daily to review some of the lessons from the end of the year or reading an article or two on topics to keep things fresh in the mind. This will avoid such a shock to the mental system when the school year kicks off. Not to mention the fact that it will begin to build that all important habit and philosophy that learning is a lifelong and lifetime activity.
Don’t just review last year – move ahead!
There’s nothing that says you can’t take a sneak peek at some of the topics coming up for next year. In fact if you take a little bite out of the workload for the next grade, you might be able to go at an easier pace through the whole year. This can teach your kids that attacking an upcoming task early and often can really pay off in dividends and avoid the whole experience of cramming at the last hour to get things finished. This never worked so well for me in college and it has become a hard habit to break for projects at church and at work! Get a handle on it before it gets ingrained in their character.
Making it Count in the Real World
Of course you don’t have to limit yourself to learning about your studies over the break. A great thing to do over the summer is to focus on finding ways to make what they’ve learned count in the real world. They think math is pointless? Have them balance your check book for a week or two. They don’t think social studies is important? Talk to them about how the decisions their national leaders are making can affect them and how being informed can make a difference. Or take them to a concert or a museum and show them how people have taken their artistic talents and used them to impress and inspire others.
I guess to sum it up, don’t think of the summer as a break. In life there are no breaks, just a change of focus. That’s the beauty of homeschooling – you aren’t boxed in, spread your wings and find unique ways to challenge and teach your children.
What do you do with your kids over the summer? (Maybe we’ll ask you what they did over summer vacation when school starts… get a head start on that essay today!)
Tags: barnabas way, homeschooling, online homeschool, online homeschooling, summer school