While I never formally homeschooled my older children, I always had some form of schooling to keep them occupied during the hot summer months (I could never embrace the idea that learning only happened August to May.) Back then I always assumed that homeschooling was school at home and so I failed many a summer. It wasn’t until I realized that a more relaxed approach often achieved better results that I scaled back. It was the summer that I let them binge watch all three seasons of The Last Airbender (as well as a few other manga related cartoons). They still had assignments, but the work was more maintenance of knowledge or a soft introduction to a new concept than hardcore schoolwork. It was the summer I allowed more time for them to explore those ideas that intrigued them. We relaxed and had fun and they learned something in spite of themselves.
Fast forward to the present.
My littlest angel is now leaving behind Kindergarten and I am preparing his 1st grade curriculum. I know that the last two years have been more about having fun and setting the correct attitude about learning; but First grade, this is about to get real.
Now, I am not afraid of creating and following curriculum. I was a college professor and created, updated and recreated curricula for the five different classes that I taught. Easy peasy. What I worry about is overloading my little one. To go from Kindergarten to First grade is a big jump. Hence, I have resurrected summer school.
I wanted to keep our routine simple, yet give my little guy an introduction to what the next school year has in store for him. I am also hoping that as the summer progresses, the system I have put in place will help him begin to take ownership of his learning. Quite simply I put everything on the refrigerator.
I have chosen to focus on Spelling, Geography, Math and Reading. Everyday, he needs to spell the words on the index cards, find a specific place on the map and answer the questions about the number of the day. The tasks are not hard, I just want him to begin thinking about these subjects.
My favorite part is the math board. This activity sneaks in reading, math and handwriting. There is something magical about getting to write on a dry erase board. My little man loves it and will often erase the answers so he can rewrite them and make them look better (bonus!)
Depending on the mood and how focused my guy is, these activities can take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes. Add in some reading before bed and you have summer school.
Once I decided on my areas of focus, it did not take long to come up with some ideas. Pinterest has many, in fact the math board is from wellnuturedplantsandpillars.wordpress.com and the geography activity was inspired from a game. It took a weekend to plan and implement the system and every evening before bed I just change out the index cards and update the math board.
There are many activities you can prepare in this manner on a variety of subjects. To get started, you simply need to ask yourself some questions. What is my child interested in, where are they struggling or what will they be learning next year. Decide what is important. If you have older children, let them help you choose the subjects and formats. Once you set everything up, make sure you go over the expectations with your child, like how often they are expected to participate, the type of work you expect from them and when the work should be completed. But above all, keep it simple so they will have some time to pursue their own summertime activities.
I wish I had been your child.