Because we home school - and home school year ‘round - we don’t really have an “official” herald that summer is here. No end of school year kick-off to really mark the passing of another grade. I chose to home school year ‘round, because, as a child with undiagnosed ADD (I wasn’t diagnosed until adulthood), I found that making the transition from the purely recreational back into a formal, structured schedule was really hard. Plus, it seemed like I had to play “catch up” a little bit since my brain atrophied a bit over the summer! This way, it’s not like pulling teeth when the kids get back to a more formal schedule. That said, there are some subtle differences in the timbre of our schooling as we head into summer:

Downshifting: We definitely slack off of the “formal work.” We tend to quietly slip more into Summer Reading mode. We sign up for Summer Reading programs at bookstores and libraries to earn free books and prizes. We read the full complement of books to satisfy each individual program. So, if the Christian bookstore requires 7 books, and the library wants 10, and the bookstore says 8, we read 25 books!

Interest-based: Whereas most of our homeschooling is interest-based (meaning the children’s interests determine subjects we pursue), during the summer, the kids take most of the leadership in making their own projects come to fruition. This past week, my oldest wanted to write a book, so he did! The book was six chapters and sixteen pages long, and my son came up with his own storyline, wrote his own outlines, and helped select the clip art drawings to illustrate the text.

Recreational: The kids are swimming every weekday until mid-August. Additionally, my daughter is taking ballet and my youngest son is taking a tumbling class. My oldest goes to a weekly Teen/Tween knitting group that I facilitate.

Summer is a great time of year for us! We have a couple of birthdays to celebrate, and we relax our schedule a bit and have some fun!

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