We still homeschool year round but summer is much more relaxed and I like to allow for each of the children to have a little more free time in the summer. Plus, any schedule I implement must be majorly flexible to accommodate the summer garden. Even though I call this our summer "schedule" it's more like a routine, an order of events to give some form of structure, accountability, and stability to our summer days; especially for my sensory processing disorder kiddos.
During the fall, winter, and spring I break up our days into 30 minute slots; in the summer I'm using mostly 1 hour slots. This broader time range gives the bigger kids time to really get involved in projects they may want to accomplish each day.
I always buddy my children up with siblings. This gives them an opportunity to become close friends without snubbing other siblings. One of our goals in raising our children is to instill in them healthy lifelong relationships with their siblings. Plus learning to interact with different people and their unique personalities is a key lifeskill important for adulthood. And lets face it, all of our children have their very own individual personalities, and some children just natural gravitate towards certain people. We want to make sure all the children are equally invested in each other's lives.
Our Summer Homeschool Schedule
6:30 Everyone at the kitchen table.
Big kids are doing reading and journaling while the little ones are coloring.
7:00 Little ones switch from coloring to listening to bible songs and reading books from a book basket that I change out weekly. Big kids are cleaning their rooms and getting ready for the day.
7:30 We eat breakfast as a family.
8:00 Little kids play blocks with sibling.
Big kids free time if all 'house assignments' (our family word for chores) are completed.
9:00 Little kids play outside with sibling.
Big kids continued free time.
10:00 Little kids educational movie supervised by sibling.
Big kids free time.
11:00 Little kids play games and/or puzzles with sibling.
Big kids free time.
12:00 Lunch together as a family.
12:30 Little kids story time/song time with mom.
Big kids free time.
1:00 Little kids nap time or quite time on blankets in the living room.
Big kids free time.
2:30 Snack time
(Daddy home)
Once my husband gets home the children typically go off to work the homestead with him.
As you can see this summer schedule is mostly reflective of managing the little people in our family. In our house if the littles (currently anyone 7 and under) are not under 100% constant supervision they are getting into trouble. (sigh) Keeping them occupied allows me to be devoted to my day-to-day tasks which in the summer is mostly spent preserving the garden harvest. I also do one-on-one school lessons with some of the children, as well as a focused efforts on tackling neglected projects.
My older children spend their days: helping around the homestead, reading, playing outside (mostly!!!), creating lego cities, as well as a plethora of other constructive activities. My second and third oldest children manage a property maintenance and lawn care business during the summer which keeps them fairly busy. Our children do not have any tech gear, so their days are not spent on any device. We do allow for some minor T.V. gaming on the weekend evenings and for family T.V. watching (but that's a topic for another day).
Summer is my favorite season. I'm extremely cold natured and having the summer warmth surround me is like an extra-special hug from the good Lord. It is my intentions to enjoy the summer and keeping a scheduled routine helps make our days more enjoyable. When everyone, especially my little people, know what and where they're supposed to be, life runs so much better.
So, do y'all create summer routines and schedules? What are your best mama tips and tricks to make summer low stress and fun for everyone?
With Love & Hope,
Jennifer
My older children spend their days: helping around the homestead, reading, playing outside (mostly!!!), creating lego cities, as well as a plethora of other constructive activities. My second and third oldest children manage a property maintenance and lawn care business during the summer which keeps them fairly busy. Our children do not have any tech gear, so their days are not spent on any device. We do allow for some minor T.V. gaming on the weekend evenings and for family T.V. watching (but that's a topic for another day).
Summer is my favorite season. I'm extremely cold natured and having the summer warmth surround me is like an extra-special hug from the good Lord. It is my intentions to enjoy the summer and keeping a scheduled routine helps make our days more enjoyable. When everyone, especially my little people, know what and where they're supposed to be, life runs so much better.
So, do y'all create summer routines and schedules? What are your best mama tips and tricks to make summer low stress and fun for everyone?
With Love & Hope,
Jennifer
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