Summer is almost here and my kids are already feeling that itch to be outside exploring more. I don’t know about you, but too much free time at our house isn’t good for anyone. With that said, I do believe that play is a child’s “work.” They need time to be free and explore, to be bored and have to get creative. But just because a break is coming doesn’t mean we need to completely forget about all structure. Kids thrive off of structure. It makes them feel safe. So, here’s a few ideas to keep your kids learning through the summer break, without all the schoolwork.

Create Family Challenges and Goals

This is a fun way to engage everyone in the family! And this can be done in a million different ways. Here’s some fun challenges we have done in the past:

• Pick one new skill (juggling, basics of a new language, cooking, instrument, etc…) that everyone will learn for the next 30 days. By the end of the summer, you’ll have three new skill sets! You can learn one thing together, or everyone can pick their own skill. The point is you are learning as a family and at the end of the month, you can have a talent show to show off everyone’s new skill.
• Learn something new every day (or even just each week) and share it at family dinner.
• Set a goal for number of books or pages to read each day. Have a check off list with everyone’s name on it that they get to mark off for all to see.

Pick a Theme

Pick a weekly or monthly theme and find an activity to do together around the theme. Here’s a few ideas to get your brainstorming:

• WWII: pick a book at a library and visit a museum
• Plants: go on a nature walk or plant a garden
• Fish: watch a documentary and go fishing
• Primary & secondary colors: mix primary colors to make secondary colors with hand paints outside
• Service: how many cookies can you bake for your neighbors?
• Survival: camp out (even in your backyard) and make campfire dinners

Create Checklists

For me, checklists are like breathing. I have to have them. I don’t always get everything done… but nevertheless I get more done with them. Here’s some checklists you may want to use this summer:

• Create a family bucket list for the summer. You can add things like places to visit, activities to do, books to read, etc.. Hang it on your refrigerator and cross something off each time you complete it.
• Create a weekly activities list, assigning a fun activity to each day: Monday is library day, Tuesday is visit Grandma, Wednesday night is S’mores night, etc… This is fun because it gives your kids something to look forward to each day of the week. You can slip some learning in here and they’ll never know it!
• Create a daily check off list. If you are like me, you have a daily chores list for your kids. So add some learning items to it as well like: read for 30 minutes and complete one worksheet for the day. Maybe the learning stuff isn’t mandatory… but it does give them something to do if they ever get bored. K-5 Learning has some great free online worksheets that you can print for your kids to complete each day.

Put Your Kids in Charge of Planning

Let your kids, especially your older ones, be in on planning events. This helps them get creative, learn to stick to a budget, get organized, create invitations, and learn to be good hosts. Each month, we host a neighborhood boys night. All the boys in the neighborhood come over and we eat something and play night games or roast marshmallows. It is a lot of work on the parents… but hey, what’s one night a month? Here’s some ideas your kids could help plan:

• Monthly neighborhood game night
• Monthly read-a-thon
• Poetry & tea party
• An art hour
• An outdoor movie
• Water games
• Neighborhood bake sale

Plan Learning Around Your Vacation

If you are planning a fun vacation this summer, is there some learning you can include before you go?

• Watch a documentary about the place you’ll be visiting
• Read about the it
• Learn more about the habitat
• Learn more about the culture culture by creating art or listening to their music
• Learn to make food from your destination
• If you are going somewhere really exotic, learn basic phrases in their language

Not going anywhere big? No worries! Staycations are fun too! Tour your own backyard by:

• Visiting local museums
• Hiking in nature
• Visiting historical places in your city or state
• Schedule tours of your local police and/or fire stations
• Finding out how many different parks there are in your area and seeing how many you can visit

Your Homework:

What’s a homeschool blog without a little homework?

• Brainstorm ways that you can keep your kids actively learning and create a plan of action
• Share some of your ideas with us in the comments! We love new ideas!