Homeschooling in the Summer... Let the Sunshine Enhance Your Learning, Not Stop It

Bright sunny days and completed curriculums shouldn't necessarily mean it's time to put the thinking caps away for three months. When we stop teaching, our kids are still learning... they don't lose that spongelike brain-building quality over the summer and because they're always absorbing information, why not keep those learning juices rich and somewhat focused so that what they're soaking up might actually enrich their understanding and appreciation of the world around them?

Basically, I don't want our summers to look like mine used to. A lot of television mixed in with play time which was really cool, but after I'd biked around my neighborhood for a couple hours, climbed a tree, and played in a rain puddle, I remember intense feelings of boredom and even loneliness. I didn't have someone involved in my activities or directing my play. That's actually healthy to a degree. It's good to give children a little freedom... time to self-direct their activities and explore their imaginations, but should that be all there is?

I know that for me, my summers were anything but constructive. Come August my skin was tan, but my brain was soft. I was physically healthier, but mentally speaking I'd lost a few weeks as had most of the classroom. It was really a challenge to get back into school mode. The boredom of not having any structure to speak of made going back to school somewhat of an excitement, but that usually fizzled a few weeks later. Ok... what am I saying exactly? lol

My conclusion is to school year round, in a loose structured environment with a mix of directed learning and self-directed play and exploration. So, basically what I'm saying is if you're curriculum is coming to a close, find other materials or activities (hopefully both) to continue on through the summer. Nothing heavy and please be sure you're making it fun. Keep the learning going and use the warm summer days to focus on things outdoors... sharing God's glorious creations with your kids and building memories that will last a lifetime.

Here are a few links to give you some ideas and inspiration for filling your summer:
101 Nature-Oriented Things to do this Summer
NASA: Summer Moon Illusion
Education World offers a list of ideas for Summer learning
Lapbooking on Squidoo This is a great way to enhance learning anytime of the year, but Summer is the perfect time to build nature lapbooks
Nature Study on Squidoo Charlotte Mason style
Enchanted Learning offers a variety of Summer crafts and activities
Crayola offers more than 1,000 activities to keep your kids busy this Summer

Build a bird feeder:
Ideas from Kidz Korner
Ideas on feeding birds from Kids Planet

Build a bird bath:
ehow shows you how to build a bird bath from a flower pot

If you're not certain you want to school this Summer, check out the research on Summer Learning loss
Also, check out a free pdf sharing a plan for Summer learning (8 pages)

As I stumble on more links, I'll start building a larger list!