Summer School

One summer, long ago, we took a regular summer break from school. The next fall, my kids had forgotten everything they had learned in May and June and we had to spend the next two months reviewing all of that information before moving on to new material. Since then, we have never taken a full summer break. Because of this, my kids are far ahead in math (and their brains don't completely turn to mush throughout the summer).

The beginning and end of every math book is review material. If you aren't taking a summer break, you can skip the entire first section of every math book. Get ahead, and skip away. And that is why my 4th grader is in Pre-Algebra (also thanks to his natural math brain).

At the beginning of every summer, I have high expectations and tell my kids that they'll be doing 50-75% of their normal school work. However, that never lasts more than a couple days, because summer is the time for me to get projects done, and to play (thus ignoring my kids and not doing school with them). So here are the minimal requirements for my kids' summer school:

- Math
- Literature (read 1 chapter/day)
- Instruments
- Scriptures/Prayer
- Journal (sometimes)
- Hug Mom (everyone laughs about this, but how often do your teenagers hug you?!)
- Kitchen Job
- Room/Messes
- Spelling (only 1 child needs this)
- Times Tables (only 1 child needs this)


For younger kids, here is a four week summer unit I compiled. I've never done unit studies as my base curriculum, but it's fun to do when there is a certain topic you'd like to explore together. And summer is the perfect time to do so.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DTtcavR3tlJS9HoXcvSjcpp472V1PX7s5ndVe94JLuo/edit?usp=sharing