Do You Have a Summer Learning Plan?

Since beginning homeschooling, I’ve always had a plan to keep going during the summer. In the past, I’ve had many different themes of summer study. I strongly believe kids need to keep up with schooling over the summer.  There still needs to be intentional learning going on.  Keep going with what they love, but also add some lessons of reinforcement. I want my summer to be as carefree as the next mom, but I don’t want to start back to school in August finding my kids have regressed in their skills and it takes a month to get back into a routine. So on that note, I want to share with you our summer learning plans.  I promise we will be a lot more flexible, and will be a lot more laid back than we are during the traditional school year. Bring on summer….. Here are a few things I do before getting together my summer learning plans.
  • give my kids an end of year math assessment
If you aren’t familiar with Prodigy Math, then you should certainly take a look.  My kids are in love with the math type video game.  It’s free and if you sign up as a teacher, you can assign lessons for your children.  They have to solve the problems and then they get to do a battle.  The wonderful thing about this program is that it will track your child’s progress and send you a report.  This program is what I used to assess my fourth grader to see what math skills we need to focus on for the summer.
  • make a summer book list
One rule in my house is to read before you have any media time.  Summer is no exception.  To find quality books for all three of my kids, I simply do a Pinterest or a google search for books on each of my kids’ grade level.  Then I compile a list of books for each kid and we go to the library to find the books.
  • find a new teacher/homeschooler to follow
This is more of an assignment for me.  Each year I like to find someone who has already taught the grade I’m getting ready to teach.  For example, my oldest will be in fifth grade next year.  I try to find one teacher/homeschooler who has taught that grade and has a strong online presence.

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Looking forward to summer…..

This summer we will work on all math skills that were below a 70% on the end of year assessment.  This can be done in as little as 15 minutes a day.  However, as much as my kids love Prodigy, I know it’s going to be closer to 30 minutes a day! This summer I will read aloud a book from our book list and then my kids will journal about the book.  This activity will be done every morning (when we don’t have anything going on) right after breakfast.  I will respond to their journal writing by writing back to them.  This will encourage them to write and will get reading and writing practice in for the summer. This summer I will find one teacher/homeschooler online who has taught fifth grade.  I’ll study his/her teaching strategies and lessons they have used in the past.  This will help motivate me to start working on lesson plans for the year. What learning plans have you made for summer?  What’s keeping you from learning throughout the year?  I’d love to hear your thoughts and plans!

 The Unhurried Homeschooler: A Simple, Mercifully Short Book on Homeschooling Homeschooling 101: A Guide to Getting Started. Montessori at Home Guide: A Short Guide to a Practical Montessori Homeschool for Children Ages 2-6 (Volume 2) The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home (Third Edition)

 

     

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