Works for Me Wednesday: Summer School

Temperatures are rising.  Talk of camps, vacations, and lazy days ahead can be heard at the park, the grocery store, the soccer field, homeschool co-ops, anywhere there are moms and kids!  Summer is near and folks are gearing up for two and a half months without school and the usual manic-pace of classes, homework, and extra-curricular activities.  My boys, however, are a little unsure what to make of it all.  “Mommy, when is Summer?,” asks my six-year-old.  “June 21,” I tell him.  “But when is summer for school?” he continues.”  I sigh, and try to explain to him that “summer vacation” is yet another one of those school-things that we just don’t do.  “When does real school start again?”  He’s trying to make sense of it all, but to him the idea of summer vacation just doesn’t make sense.

We tried taking a true summer break from our schooling a few years back and found that it just didn’t work for us  The boys enjoyed the first week or two of their freedom from scheduled schoolwork, but were soon after bickering, whining, and actually asking when they could “do school” again.  And then, when we did get back to our schoolwork, I found that both boys had forgotten far more of their skills, particularly in math, than I had expected, even knowing from my experience working in the public school system that summer-regression is common.

And so I swore off long school breaks then and there!  My boys need structure, they need a variety of planned activities, they need school!

Now don’t misunderstand.  I am not an unrelenting task-master, nor am I an all-work-and-no-play schoolmarm.  We have fun during the summer, lots of fun, but we have fun during the school year, too.  By schooling year-round, our schedule affords us a bit more flexibility than if we were trying to finish all of our academics by a pre-set date.  If an interesting field-trip opportunity comes up, we take it.  If our school day is falling apart early-on, we pick up and head to the park.  If Grandma finds a too-good-to-pass-up activity for the boys, we join her, sometimes taking our books with us, but most times, not.  For us, schooling is not simply how far we get in our math book or how many spelling lessons we’ve completed, it’s a way of life.  Whether we head out to see a play, travel to explore a new state, or visit with Grandma, we are learning, and  I’ve found, the math book does always get finished, eventually.

This summer, we will spend lots of time at the pool and make weekly trips to a local farm for u-pick produce; the boys will attend Vacation Bible School and Cub Scout Camp, and they will each spend a week at Grandma and Grandpa’s on their own.  They will also continue with their math and reading, engage in nature study and move forward with their history lessons.  We will do more cooking, more reading pool-side, more hands on activities, and more science experiments.  And with our co-op and extracurricular activities all on hiatus for the summer, we will still have plenty of time for swimming, playing, and having fun.  And if you think my children are complaining, they aren’t.   Remember this post and Connor’s description of homeschooling to his four-year-old friend:  “I get to stay home all day and do school!  It’s lots of  FUN!”

Homeschooling year round, it works for me!