IKEA furniture comes with instructions…
Our new car has a user’s manual the size of a small phone book (for those of us old enough to remember what those are)…
Even my electric pencil sharpener came with a little booklet of helpful information…
So why isn’t there a Parenting Manual to help us with the hardest job we’ll ever have?!
I’ve heard that when people approach the end of life, their priorities become very clear. They realize that many things that seemed significant in the past aren’t that important after all. They spend the time they have left with loved ones, and they reflect on the lasting legacy they’ll be leaving behind.
My oldest son is now a high school junior and, in some ways, I find myself thinking along the same lines. Thankfully he’s just moving on to the next stage of life, but to me it feels like the end of an era.
If you haven’t yet read Part 1 of this series, do that first or the rest of this won’t make as much sense: How to Plan the Best Summer Break for Your Homeschool Family: Part 1
In Part 1 we covered the first two steps in planning a great summer break for your family. As a reminder those steps are:
Hopefully, those two initial brainstorming steps were accomplished in the time it took your kids to binge watch a season of Bluey.
Now that you’ve got your goals and you’ve researched the “tools” you’ve got at your disposal, keep reading to find out what to do next!
What’s the best way to approach summer break if you’re a homeschooling family?
Like the rest of homeschooling, there’s no one right method. Some families “do school” year round. Other families unschool – their relaxed school year is indistinguishable from their summer break. And some (like my own family) create a light structure, but take a break from some or all of their usual school work.
No matter how you do it, the keys to success are…
Kids in first, second, or third grade are at such a fun age! They’re still young enough to be intrigued by a lot of things. But they’re older and much more capable than they were just a few short years ago.
We can use this innate curiosity and increased capability to our advantage as home educators.
There are two different types of planning that are important in homeschooling. They are…
…“Big Picture Planning” and “Detailed Planning”.
The Big Picture Plan is a zoomed-out view of our kids’ entire education. All the subjects. All the years. Everything from ABC and 123 up through high school graduation.
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If there’s one thing I’ve learned in over a decade of homeschooling, it’s that learning can happen anytime, anywhere, and in many different ways.
We definitely don’t need to be in a classroom. And it doesn’t even have to be a school day!
In past posts, I’ve shown how kids are always learning – on weekends, on vacations, and even when they’re bored, sick, or having a bad day. This past New Year’s break I was reminded, yet again, that kids are always learning… even on a holiday!
One of my new favorite t-shirts says, “Hold on. Let me overthink this.” It’s perfect for me.
I’ve always been a Type-A, planner-loving, I-prefer-my-ducks-in-a-row momma. I tend to over-analyze and over-complicate most things – especially when it comes to our homeschool.
Thankfully, over a decade of homeschooling has mellowed me out a little bit. I’ve seen firsthand how powerful spontaneous teachable moments can be. I’ve witnessed my kids retain more from playing made-up games than from carefully crafted lesson plans. I’ve realized that it’s less about finding the “right” curriculum and more about nurturing relationships and encouraging a love of learning.
It’s that time of year again.
Swimsuits. Pool parties. Watermelon. Ice cream trucks. And, best of all…
… the next chapter in Our Homeschool Summer Break blog series!
Okay, maybe a blog post isn’t better than ice cream (or any of those other things). But it sure beats swatting away mosquitoes while mowing the lawn!
Time is one of the greatest gifts you can give your child. Time with you. Time with other people who love them. And even time alone.
In this series on How to Homeschool Preschool, we’ve already talked about the importance of playing (in Part 1) and character training (in Part 2). But, to do both of those things, you need time and you need to be intentional with it!
