Summer is upon us and although we love a good break, we also really appreciate routine in our home. I love that while routines help us find our way throughout the day, they’re also super flexible. So we absolutely include a Summer learning routine during our “break!”
Want to incorporate a Summer learning routine this year but not quite sure how? Follow along below for 5 simple steps to get yours all planned out!
1. Review your Summer calendar.
2. Choose your goals.
3. Choose a learning rhythm.
4. Gather your resources.
5. Keep track of learning tasks.
Review Your Summer Calendar
Before you start to plan your Summer learning, you want to take a look at your calendar to see what kind of time you have to work with and what events you’ll need to work around. The quickest way to overwhelm yourself when it comes to any form of homeschooling is to make lesson plans without considering time off. So take a seat, grab some calendars like our EDITABLE printable monthly calendars, and write down days you will for sure NOT be able to work on learning activities.
Events to keep in mind when planning might include…
family vacations
Vacation Bible Schools
sports events
important celebrations and holidays
church events
field trips
camps
Choose Your Goals
When choosing our learning goals for the Summer, I like to do 2 things. First, I look back over the school year we just completed to see what skills could use some extra review time. I generally don’t teach any new skills over the Summer, so this is the perfect time to get in some extra practice with necessary skills.
I also look at the upcoming school year. By this point I’ve usually already purchased our homeschool materials for the next year. So I spend some time looking at what we’ll be introducing the next year and thinking about what foundational skills will be important to have mastered. For example, our 2nd grade Math year will include adding and subtracting with regrouping. So during the Summer, we’ll spend time reviewing our addition and subtraction facts, as well as reviewing place value!
Read about some of our favorite Summer learning activities here!
Choose a Learning Rhythm
So you’ve reviewed your family’s Summer calendar. You’ve also picked the skills/subjects your kiddos need some extra practice with. Next up? Choose a learning rhythm!
We prefer using rhythms or routines over planning a rigid schedule. The main difference is that we do the same subjects/activities in the same order each day. But we don’t tie them to specific times during the day. That way we’re free to spend as much time as needed on each subject/activity and we can start/finish whenever we need!
For our own Summer learning time…
Our days tend to be oriented around my toddler’s naptime since she takes one long afternoon nap. So our pre-nap time consists of family activities, as well as “together” learning activities. These activities include me reading aloud for Bible time, poetry, Science/Social Studies themed picture books, and a chapter book read aloud. We don’t get to these every day during the Summer, but we do try to get to them as much as possible.
During my toddler’s nap, we take care of “table work” so that I have more undivided attention to give. This is when we review some Math skills, practice some writing, and get in a little independent reading time. We also try to include some of our digital learning from our current favorite app Reading Eggs. My 1st grader loves their Math and Reading programs!
Gather Resources
The next-to-last task when planning Summer learning time is to gather the resources you plan on using with your littles. I like to keep everything in one spot, like this basket above. Having our school resources all in one spot makes getting to work quicker since you’re not hunting for workbooks and supplies. But it’s also helpful because you can grab your basket and work anywhere! We love taking our basket out onto the back patio, on extended Summer trips with us, or even just to a different room in the house to give us a change of scenery!
Keep Track of Learning Tasks
Planning our learning activities is one of my favorite things to do! (Ya can’t take the lesson planning teacher out of the teacher-turned-homeschooler, y’all!) Once I’ve made our goals, figured out our rhythm, and gathered our resources, I love to sit down with a hot cup of coffee and our FREE planning pages to get everything sorted out!
These planning pages include 6 blank subject areas because I plan for 6 subjects during our normal school year. But you could absolutely just plan for a few subjects, or even get crazy and use the remaining subject areas to plan family outtings, crafts, board games, etc. for your do to do as well. And don’t forget about our FREE Summer bucket list for more ideas of activities to do as a family!
Let’s Hang Out!
I hope this outline for how to create a Summer learning routine for your family has been helpful! I’d love to hear your thoughts, so come hang out with us in one of our favorite places!
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