Summer home school ideas
We will return to the regularly scheduled drama after this short message.
Summer is coming soon.
No! Really! It’s almost mid February, which means that March, April, and May are all that stand between me and a 3 month break from school for my boysies.
So I am trying to plan ahead to prepare for the extra time and lack of structure that will ensue.
Jeremiah is especially anxious about having three whole months off. He hates it when there is 1 day off of school. At all of his former placements, they had year round, in-house school, so he has never experienced summer break before.
Sooo….Mom is trying her best to plan now for how to fill the time with structure and learning to help him and Gabe stay on track academically as well as help Miah feel more at ease with the break.
So, (yes, that is how I am starting paragraphs this post) I need help from all my awesome home schooling mom and dad friends out there to help me with resource ideas.
Here are the topic areas that I think the boys would most benefit from:
Gabe
- Algebra 2
- Chemistry or Physics (I have to find out what he is signed up for next year. I can’t remember what the order is.)
- English 11, especially focusing on vocabulary, writing skills, and reading comprehension. (This is Gabe’s worst subject, so it will need to be something that is very comprehensive.)
- US History (He’s currently failing this class because of….well…laziness, so I really want to grab his attention. I like the Drive Thru History DVD’s, but am curious of any other good history resources out there.)
Jeremiah
- 4th and 5th grade math (He hasn’t mastered basic math skills yet, such as counting, adding etc…but we are trying to help him work near grade level as well, so any program that has a variety of elementary levels would be helpful. Computer programs would be a good motivation for him as well. )
- Reading and vocabulary (This is Miah’s hardest subject as well. He reads at about a kindergarten/first grade level, and comprehension is very difficult, so any help in this area would rock.)
- Science exploration (We will be doing a lot of traveling this summer, so something that will incorporate a lot of exploration would be excellent.)
Okay, so that is what we need. We will be going all over the place this summer, from Northern MN, to Chicago, to the Black Hills, maybe even Texas, so my goal is to incorporate learning where ever we go. The lower the cost for the materials the better, but we will pay for quality materials.
I feel like I should know more about this by now, but since both of my boys are in public school right now, I’ve lost my motivation to research.
HELP! 
Blessings!
Hannah
Oh, and let me know if you want to send me a longer message and I will shoot you my e-mail.
Teaching Textbooks (www.teachingtextbooks.com) for Algebra rocks the Casbah!
Time 4 Learning may be JUST what you need (you pay month-to-month) http://www.time4learning.com/
Read for at least 30-60 minutes a day to them. Find great books and slowly work your way through them via family story time. Good therapeutic books might be “Touching Spirit Bear” or the Heartland series by Lauren Brooke (even my boys like these – when I’m reading them aloud). Reading aloud to your kids absolutely helps with THEIR reading. You can also pick out books just for Miah and take turns reading pages or paragraphs together.
With history, I would stick to videos. They make it come alive more.
We unschool science. See a cool animal? We run look it up. Have a question about that tree? Google it. Want to know more about bats? YouTube!
Even in the summer, things are “routine.” We have a regular day we go to the pool, or skating, etc. Bedtimes and mealtimes do not change, etc.
Rock! Thank you, Christine.
I will definitely look into those books. And thank you for reminding me about Time 4 learning.
Blessings!
Hannah
Ditto on the unschool science. We like keeping nature journals. I post about that here http://raisingolives.com/2009/03/homeschooling-nature-journals/
We liked Aleks math for Algebra. It’s an online math program, a little pricey, but excellent teaching and our kids enjoyed it!
Lots and lots of reading!
Don’t forget to explore and spend time together. That’s the BEST thing that you can do for your family.
I’m not sure about any of that yet, we plan on homeschooling our children. Angela has home schooled all her kids. and i think 4 of them are done..or the 4th one in just within the next few months. But..she’s been doing this for YEEEEARS..so I’m sure you could talk to her at church or something if you wanted. ;0)
Your challenge will be to balance structure and innovation. The best teaching tools for your youngest will be life experiences. I concur with studying what is in front of you, whether it is the glacial gouges on Duluth’s North Shore or the math required when you go shopping. Content will be less important than instilling the joy of learning! That is what I did with you and your siblings…
I really wish I had more to offer, but your boys are quite a bit older than my kids. I do enjoy year round schooling in our house. In the summer or on vacation, it is not as intensive or based on a cirriculum, though I still have a little workbook for them year round just so he doesn’t forget how to sit still. The car is a great place for reading read to them have them read to you, books on tape. (Narnia audio drama only counts once)
I think the schedule is the key. Go for a walk everyday about the same time, wherever you are. Great chance for conversation, exercize, and learning about nature.
Also, I know you have mentioned that you have creative boys on your hands, you should be able to use it to your advantage. They can draw what they learn about in history or science. I think the key to all learning is to find out what the kid likes to be doing and creatively exploiting it to your educational advantage.
*note-Take everything I say with a grain of salt. I have only homeschooled two years and may be a little idealistic.
Any suggestions are welcome, Amanda.
Two years is still longer than me. You are so blessed to have such smart kiddos.
I can’t do the reading in the car thing, cuz that would make me sick, and we DO have more audio dramas than just Narnia.