Summer School

Well, it's that time of year again. Time to start thinking about NEXT year.

I've been doing some thinking and evaluating and planning and here's the conclusion I've come to. We have to continue doing school right through the summer. GASP! I know! It's unheard of! Doing school in the SUMMER?!

But that's the great thing about homeschooling. WE get to decide what we feel is best for our children, not someone else. We have taken more days off this past school year than I like due to one thing or another, and I just don't feel comfortable with the amount of learning that has happened. Therefore, we will continue on through the summer months.

Now, lest you think I'm a cruel and unusual slave-driver (well, unusual might actually be an acurate description here), I really am not. If anything, I'm a very relaxed and laid-back homeschooler. But when you look at how much of the english book is left and how we are WAAAAY behind on ordering new math books, well, the only decision that is best for my children is to keep on keeping on.

But for all four of my children to do math, english, spelling, handwriting and reading, which is all we'll be doing through the summer, it only comes to about 2 hours a day. And everyone knows that 12 hours a day for four kids at home with nothing to do equals messes and bickering and one crazy mom! So I don't see the problem with continuing our learning for a mere 1/6 of the day during the summer. They'll still have at least 10 hours of driving me crazy looking for things to keep them busy.

Besides, I view homeschooling as 'life learning'. And life doesn't take 3 months off every summer. Life goes on no matter what. So, we'll just be continuing 'life'. We'll live, we'll have fun, we'll learn, we'll play, we'll swim, we'll take hikes, and whatever else we decide to do. And when August comes around we won't have to back up and refresh our memories of what we were 'learning' at the end of May!

So, how about you? What do your summers look like?