Picnics. Pools. The long car ride to a faraway aunt’s home.
There are many ways a family can spend the summer, but homeschoolers often approach the season with a bit more seriousness. Sure, they want to have fun, and it’s a great time to schedule a much-needed vacation. However, they also see these three short months as a way to create space in a busy homeschool year.
So, how can families balance the need to rest with the opportunities available to learn and excel? Here are some ways homeschool families use the summer to their advantage.
1. Follow a passion.
With some exceptions, the standard homeschool curriculum may feel a mile wide and an inch deep. So, your student won’t get to spend more than a week or two learning about any single plant, animal, or interesting historical event. This can be a real bummer to a curious student, and that’s where summer comes in.
Our students have done everything from researching the best types of tea for starting their own herbal tea garden to creating multiple 3D printed prototypes for a homemade musical instrument. These are interesting and unique activities that we simply didn’t have time for in the regular school schedule.
Giving them space to explore helps us get back to what brought us to homeschooling in the first place (curiosity). These passion projects help train the part of the brain for focus and perseverance as they work through day-to-day challenges and – ultimately – find solutions.
2. Cultivate relationships.
If your children are also one another’s good friends, like ours, they miss out on the more connected bonding time during the school year. Things can feel rushed, and college-aged kids are completely removed from family activities until they return in the summer.
That’s why we treat summer as a way to reconnect with friends and family who may have been distant during the school year. We write letters, schedule BBQs, and set up game nights to encourage our kids to put the most important things first. This is also a great way to boost communication skills and reteach kids the subtle art of addressing an envelope.
3. Play catch-up.
Most homeschool families I know have at least one “dreaded” subject that falls by the wayside as the year goes on. This can be due to learning difficulties or a simple preference for doing English over math. Whatever the reason, summer can be a great time to assess where you need to be and put in the hard work of getting there.
Unlike typical school year scheduling, the summer catch-up can include more enrichment activities, fun games, and YouTube videos. Or, it can be a bare-bones attack plan where you just work and work to get it out of the way. However you approach it, the summer catch-up does more than help you get back on track after a wayward year; it keeps skills sharp and can actually reduce the summer brain drain often experienced by students in more traditional school environments.
(Studies show that taking a break can cost them two months of learning!)
4. Practice Self-Discovery
When kids are so busy going from science labs to co-op to piano lessons, it can be very difficult for them to think about who they are and what they truly want to do. That’s why I recommend using the summer as a time for them to learn more about their own skills and motivations, as this info will be very valuable when they enter the workforce.
You don’t need to do a formal “What Color is Your Parachute” session to figure these things out (and honestly, kids may be too young to frame many of the questions appropriately). Instead, consider a few of these options, which help kids explore interests in the context of future educational programs and jobs:
- Attend college-hosted summer camps. These camps are technically marketing efforts from the colleges, but they can help kids better understand certain fields and whether they would enjoy them or not. (And it’s also a good way to get a “behind-the-scenes” of potential colleges.)
- Do an apprenticeship or job shadow. Whether it’s a formal program offered by a big company or a casual arrangement between parents, give kids a chance to do the work for a variety of jobs, even for just a day. If it’s a paying gig, they can even put some cash away!
- Watch YouTube videos. Yes, this video platform has been a huge help for my kids as they ask questions like, “I wonder what a GIS specialist does all day?” Some videos are more detailed than others, so screen them in advance to make sure they fit your needs and standards for content.
Be sure to follow up with your student so you can go over what they learned about themselves. Did they hate something? Love it? Have them take notes in a special notebook, so they can look back and remember the insights they get from each experience.
5. Consider Dual Enrollment.
Finally, it’s very common for homeschoolers to start taking college courses while in high school, but finding the time during the standard school year can be tough. Summer is an ideal time to try one or two courses, especially if they are in a self-paced format like those offered through Mid-America Christian University, powered by TEL Education.
These courses start in June and can be completed before the fall semester starts in your homeschool. Choose from a variety of options, including College Algebra, Spanish I, and Intro to Chemistry. Since they are self-paced, students can complete activities and exams around apprenticeships, jobs, and family vacations with no need to request excused absences from their instructors.
And did we mention how affordable they can be? One math course, for example, costs just $225 ($75 per credit hour). This is cheaper than some high school math curricula, and it covers a full semester of college math, equivalent to a year of high school math.
Dual enrollment can check all the boxes, including:
- Following a passion: Take classes in music appreciation, computer literacy, or philosophy
- Cultivate relationships: The self-paced online format won’t cut into your family summer getaway.
- Play catchup: Won’t have time to fit a year of Composition into a senior year? Take it over the summer and get back on track.
- Practice self-discovery: With courses like MACU’s Success at College course, your student can explore different career categories and get a better idea of their college and career aptitude.
Keep Summer Focused on the Right Things
What activities will your family plan this summer? Whether you dive into new learning adventures or just relax by the pool, this season will be special because YOU are there for your kids to help guide them and lead them according to their unique skills and interests. You can help direct them to activities that fit your values and reinforce the lessons they need to know, through both formal and informal means.
And that’s what truly matters in a home education – at any time of year.
