Navigating Homeschooling Through the Summer

If you are like many homeschooling moms, you are looking at what you haven't finished yet for the year and starting to feel a bit frustrated... frustrated at yourself maybe for not staying disciplined enough or frustrated at the events that came up that took you off course or even just frustrated that you want to be done and don't feel like you can be... but that sun calls you to be outside... parks seem to be begging to your children... and popsicles sound much more fun than poetry! 

I totally understand!  Sometimes life gets in the way...one thing I have realized is that even when I plan (and you all know how much I preach about planning!) it can be hard to take all scenarios into consideration!  We had a couple of those this year and so it has me standing at what is the end of the year for many of my homeschooling friends and pouting!

After I decided pouting wouldn't get me very far, I decided to make a plan - something I am good at - a plan that would work for all of us and not having us feel like we were doing school the entire summer.  I thought about what we have left to finish. I started to look at really what needed to be done and how we could fit in the pool, lake and movies around it!  Rather than our regular 4-5 day work week, I settled on 3 days - 3 mornings really... 3 mornings of getting up and hitting our lessons and then enjoying our day.

So what can you do?  Really look at what things you can combine - if you missed a history block or portion of a block... is there a novel that your child can read and then discuss with you? Can you take your lessons with you to the park?  We did this often, I packed us breakfast and lunch, got them up early, took some reading of my own and head to the park.  We were often there for hours and hours just having fun - oh and doing lessons too!  

This easily becomes wonderful bonding time - they will forget they are at the park and really start just enjoying the lesson time.  Again pack plenty of food, pick a park with a potty, take a blanket or table cloth and have fun!  While they are all playing together you can take mom time to read.

Another way I work in lessons or extra reading is in the car - of course you have to be able to read in the car without getting sick!  My in laws lived 30 minutes away and the children each took their reading books with them in the car - with the library's summer reading program, they got eager to see who could read the most pages! This is a great way to get lesson work in.

Working on times tables?  Use hopscotch! If you missed measuring out the ark in the winter months then measure it out now - take the time to throw in fun with measurement through summer baking (or no-baking!)  Make sure you take full weeks off in between to rest too... be kind to yourself and let them run and play too.

My own summer work usually revolves around my relationship with practical arts that I may want to strengthen - like taking my knitting to the next step or making something new with felt that I can take to the children this next year.  Take the time to enjoy these tasks and have fun.  Also take the time to really meditate on who you are, how much fun you had this year, counting all your blessings.  Nothing makes a pity party go away quicker than an accounting of blessings.

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