Who wants to keep their kids learning this summer, but still have time for summer fun?
Let’s put together a simple plan for summer homeschooling success!
Tip #1: Start with “wake-up work”
“Wake up” the brain when it is time to start learning. We want to ease our kids into learning mode with something fun. Choose a review activity that is something quick and fairly easy for your child to do.
Wake-up work can be a 5-minute story, one math problem (like the ones in Daily Word Problems), or a sudoku puzzle – just make it something your child enjoys doing!
Wake-up Work Resource Ideas:
Who likes colorful activities? Evan-Moor’s Skill Sharpeners series features full color units that include fun ways to review and polish skills that your child has already learned. I recommend completing one page a day (unless your kids are like mine and beg to do more).
I also keep Evan-Moor’s Take It to Your Seat Center activities in one place for quick review. The kids pick one, and it keeps things fun and easy for all of us!
Tip #2: Provide an opportunity for your child to learn something he or she is interested in learning.
Use your child’s curiosity to keep her wanting to learn more for summer homeschool success!
Your child might want to know how to plant a garden, study history, or learn about animals. Child-led learning is a terrific way to keep kids interested in learning more!
Child-Led Learning Resource Ideas
Let your child take the lead on what he learns this summer! Maybe your child likes history, art, or science?
Summer offers us more time, which is perfect for trips to museums, science experiments, and art projects! We often take messy projects or experiments outside in the morning before it gets too hot! Anyone else do that?
Evan-Moor has books for hands-on learning activities to teach or use as a follow-up from field trips, outings, or summer travel! History Pockets, U.S. Facts & Fun, Giant Science Resource Book, and Art for All Seasons work great for this.
Tip #3: Encourage your child to do some creative thinking!
Kids enjoy learning new things, so encourage them to think about ways to be creative or solve problems in a different way.
Evan-Moor has a fun series called Critical and Creative Thinking Activities. There are several units on topics kids enjoy, and my kids are happy to do a page a day (and often ask to do more!).
If your child prefers full-color pages with themed activities, Skill Sharpeners: Critical Thinking is another fun option to consider for grades PreK–6!
My kids were thrilled to find units focused on their favorite animals. They enjoyed reading activities, math puzzles, drawing, and more! It is a great option if you want a fun activity book that will keep kids enjoying learning new things!
You can also get your children curious by asking them questions to guide their thinking if they get stuck. “What would happen if you tried…” or “I wonder how you could…”
Let’s simplify your summer!
By just focusing on these 3 types of activities, summer homeschooling will be focused and fun!
Remember the 3 tips for keeping things simple and fun when you homeschool this summer is:
Tip #1 – Quick and fun warm-up work
Tip #2 – Let children choose what they want to learn
Tip #3 – Invite them to join a challenge or creative activity
More tips on Evan-Moor summer resources:
If you want ALL of these types of activities for your summer homeschooling, then be sure to check out a subscription to Evan-Moor’s TeacherFileBox. It is a lesson plan library where you can search for the exact subjects or skills you need for your child. It is my go-to resource for homeschooling lessons year-round. Currently, the best deal is through the Homeschool Buyer’s Co-op.
If you would prefer to use a single printed book, Daily Summer Activities ($12.99, grades PreK–8) are full-color books that can keep summer homeschool simple!
Each book has 10 weekly study units that cover 10 areas of study with pre-planned practices each day. Your child can do a quick practice to keep learning all summer long!
How do you keep learning fun during the summer? Tell us in the comments!
Amy Michaels is a certified teacher with 11 years of elementary classroom experience who is actively homeschooling her own children. Her mission is share the best teaching methods and resources with all homeschoolers. Amy supports parents through her podcasts, webinars, and online training for homeschoolers on her website www.thrivehomeschooling.com.