Everyone needs a break from “learning”, even homeschoolers. By learning, I mean written curriculum, online work – whatever your yearly learning looks like. However, all homeschool families know that you never really stop learning. While summer is the perfect time for your kids to get a well-deserved break, learning is a year-round process that doesn’t have to interfere with summertime fun. There are plenty of fun activities that make learning simple, fun, and interesting – and they won’t even realize they’re learning!
Keeping your kids engaged and their minds working over the summer can also help when it’s time to start school again by combatting the summer brain drain. While there are the tried-and-true day trips to the zoo and museums, we’ve come up with some activities that are easily done at home or on a summer road trip.
Experiment with Science Science projects are a great way to keep your kids interested in learning how things work. Here are some quick and easy ideas that have been summer hits in our home:
Paper Airplanes: We get some colored art paper and briefly discuss aerodynamics while making paper airplanes. The older kids even look up some ideas online. They spend their time designing, decorating, and putting the finishing touches on their planes and then we all go into the backyard for a contest to see who can go the furthest and the highest.
Ice Cream in a Bag: Who doesn’t love ice cream on a hot summer day? Show your kids how to make ice cream in a bag, discuss how it works, and let them make their own!
Watch a Summer Meteor Shower: There are many times during the summer to see meteor showers. Whether you need to drive out into the country without city lights, or camp in your backyard to enjoy the show, there’s a great opportunity to talk about the vastness of space.
Tin Foil Boats: The only thing better than a summer rain shower is a boat race afterward! When it looks like rain, we take out the aluminum foil and make boats in anticipation of when the rain stops. As soon as it stops, the kids rush out to the street and put their boats in the flowing gutter to race boats down the street in the water.
Take a Hike One of the beautiful things about Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Idaho and many other states is that there are opportunities for nature walks and hikes everywhere. Take a fun hike – as easy as you like – and discover local plants and wildlife. Learn some bird calls, how important each part of nature is to the overall balance, and why we need to make sure we take care of our environment.
Play in the Dirt Gardening is full of physical, mental, and educational benefits. Whether you have a big garden or you give your kids a small spot of their own, let them plant their own seeds or small starter plants and give them the responsibility to water them and watch them grow.
Turn Reading into Fun Our local library district offers a summer reading program for kids of all ages. Reading fosters creativity and imagination. Check out the summer programs at your local library and don't forget about the library's other activities such as read-alouds, arts and crafts, classes, and other fun activities for the kids.
Explore Audio Books If the kids don’t normally use audiobooks in their yearly learning, let them explore audiobooks this summer. They are wonderful tools, especially if you are traveling, and allow kids to listen to stories and learn about topics that interest them.
Subscribe to Podcasts Podcasts are a great tool to use for both learning and entertainment. There are many podcasts out there for cool science, history, and even folklore. We use history podcasts during the school year, but also for fun as my kids love to listen to history and science podcasts and learn those little interesting tidbits that they didn't get in the mainstream curriculum. They’ve come up with many interesting facts that have kept us busy discussing on long trips!
When you change your routine and take a break from the books and workbooks, but still utilize some of these fun learning activities, you will be happy that your kids are still exercising their minds instead of sitting in front of screens, and they will be happy because they're having fun. It's a homeschool win-win!
Statheros Academy is a resource for like-minded homeschool parents to benefit from a homeschool community to get support, resources, and tools for successfully homeschooling their children. Have questions or concerns? Our Homeschool Coaches can help! We can alleviate your worries and help you so that this journey is enjoyable for the entire family. What will you do this summer to keep those creative juices flowing? Join our private Facebook group and share your thoughts with us!