Summertime conjures up lazy days at the pool, a trip to the beach, and more relaxed schedules along with a family vacation or two. Summertime is not only a great time to begin homeschooling, but a way to have a relaxed start to the new year.
6 Ways to Use Summer Time to Kick Start the Homeschool Year
Whether you want a break from a more rigid schedule, feel like last year’s curriculum left you feeling less than inspired, or want to use summertime to put a foot in homeschooling, you’ll love these six tips.
Mix and match these tips or use one to put the spark for learning in your new homeschool year.
ONE/ Focus on one element of language arts.
Although many new homeschoolers think they have to wait until the fall to begin their year, it’s so much better if you get a feel for teaching by focusing on one subject.
It may be a subject your child is struggling with or a subject that interests him.
When I have summertime with my high school teens, focusing on one subject like their writing keeps it from being overwhelming when they have a heavier load at the beginning of the year.
For example, one year we focused on strengthening writing skills through a course set to my teen’s pace.
Focusing on a subject like composition encouraged my son’s love for writing; it allowed him time to pursue his passion of writing without the pace of a hectic schedule.
TWO/ Focus on a subject that gets overlooked like art or music.
Art is a subject that can easily get overlooked during the year.
Until we started using Atelier Homeschool Art, art was a struggle for us. I’m not an artsy person, but we love art.
Summertime gives us a time to indulge our love art because it’s video based and we can go our own pace.
Look at my posts How To Teach Homeschool Art Like a Pro (When You’re Not) to see how we love it and use it.
Then music study is a much overlooked study, although it shouldn’t be. You’ll love these courses.
These are high school courses, but Music in our Homeschool has something for just about every age.
THREE/ Use nature studies as a way to pique your kid’s interest for learning and kick-start your new year.
Children learn best through hands-on. And there is no better way to push back at what the educational world thinks the first of our year is suppose to look like than to do a hands-on nature study.
From observing the richness and variety in the colors of nature to showing how everything in nature is interdependent your kids won’t easily forget the start of their new year with nature studies.
Look at some of these ideas for easy (always my standard) nature studies:
- Hands-On Mixed Media Flower Art Fun Nature Study
- Hands-On Literature Nature Study: Simple Tree Craft
- Hands-On Nature Study: Make a Fun Bird Nesting Bag
Also, look at these nature living books I use below – NaturExplorers.
Living books for multiple ages is also a great tip when your budget is limited.
And subscription boxes nowadays rock our world with fun learning. They keep our homeschool day fun and lively. Try one or two!
FOUR/ Watch educational movies.
Educational movies make a great start to school. It’s easy after pulling your kids from school to jump straight into book learning.
You may think that is what homeschooling is about. Beginning your year with educational movies puts the whole family in a relaxed mood.
Pop some corn and grab one of these movies from the list below to begin your learning journey.
- 7 Educational Movies for Kids About Westward Expansion
- Homeschool History Teaching Ancient Civilizations Using Netflix
Grab one of these movie sheets and you’re off to an engaging start.
FIVE/ Don’t forget refreshment and education for the educator.
The worst thing you can do in the beginning of your school year is to focus solely on the needs or your kids. Taking time to educate yourself about homeschooling or just grabbing some refreshment will give you the boost you need for the new year.
Besides joining my facebook group where we like to stay on fire as we encourage each other about different homeschool issues we face, look at a couple of these free things below.
I love the fact that Fortuigence has a free course for parents about writing. It it a subject lot of us struggle to teach.I
Take your time going through my free new homeschooler boot camp because you’ll need time to deschool.
SIX/ Homeschool unit studies nurture a love for learning.
When children have control of their learning, school can go a lot more smooth. Unit studies have a way of nurturing a love of learning because you can pick topics that pique your children’s interests.
I have volumes of free unit studies here on my site. Here are some of my science unit studies. Pick one or two and recharge your kids’ love for learning by doing one or two.
You’ll also love these other ideas to use summertime as way to put your foot in homeschooling:
- 7 Advantages to Starting Your Homeschool Year in the Summer
- 30 Summer Activities for Middle School Kids
- Wildflowers Unit Study & Lapbook
- Kinder Gardening to Celebrate Nature and Science
- How to Dissolve a Seashell – Beach Hands-on Fun Activity
- 10 Fun Amazon Prime Movies for the Youngest Homeschoolers
- A to Z List: 100 Fun Summer Homeschool Unit Study Ideas
- Homeschool History Teaching Ancient Civilizations Using Netflix
Hugs and love ya,
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