The Wolfe Pack {Reviews~Support~Opinions for the Discerning Homeschool Mom}

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FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Three Out-of-the-Box Options

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{This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our Disclosure Policy for details.} 

Choosing ANY homeschool curriculum can be a very difficult process. There are just so many choices. So. Many. 

But choosing a FOREIGN LANGUAGE curriculum? That has been a special level of difficult.  It has been almost painful. 

I think, that if my son wanted to learn Spanish, with which I am at least a wee bit familiar after taking four years of it in high school,  I might not feel so lost. 

But, no, my kid wants to learn Chinese.

So,  looking for the right program to teach him the Mandarin language has been a rather foreign process for me. 

I mean, how do I even begin to assess whether a program is good or not? It’s NOT like I can read through it and get a feel for it myself. {I cannot read it!}

And, for some reason, FOREIGN LANGUAGE curriculum seems to be one of the more expensive subjects. So, though, I have been willing to shell out primo bucks for science and math, which my kid actually needs for his career goal of being a zoologist, I really didn’t want to spend a ton for this elective. And, I sure as heck didn’t want to spend hundreds on one program only to find it didn’t work for us and then have to buy another one. 

And, probably the biggest challenge for me is the fact that this is one subject with which I cannot help my kid learn. I mean, we all know that homeschool moms can teach almost anything to our kids, and when we find ourselves outmatched by a subject, we can outsource {like I do for math and science at the high school level.} But, again, I’m not sure I want to spend the same type of serious money on him learning Chinese that we invest into live, on-line science classes or the time that we spend with what I like to call my private 1:1 math tutor, Nicole The Math Lady. 

So, even after I have spent countless hours looking at options of how to teach a FOREIGN LANGUAGE, I have yet to decide which route we will take. 

But, I sure have learned a lot about HOW and WHERE students can learn a FOREIGN LANGUAGE! 

Hopefully, what I learned can help YOU make your FOREIGN LANGUAGE choice less difficult. 

Other than the huge selection of boxed curriculum you can find in your homeschool catalogs or on the web,  I found three other options for FOREIGN LANGUAGE instruction. 

Three Out-of-the-Box Options for Teaching a Foreign Language

 

ONE: YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY

This is a phenomenal option that could flat-out be FREE for your family. Obviously, different libraries will offer different options but it’s definitely worth looking into. 

I was pleasantly surprised to find that our local library offers MANGO for free to all card-holders.

MANGO is a self-paced online resource that offers over 70 world languages and dialects through courses crafted using conversational methodology. 

I know other libraries offer similar options including Duolingo and Babbel. We have not used any of these resources but considering it’s FREE, it sure seems like a great option! Even if we use it to simply “test-out” which language he might really want to pursue, it sure seems like a wise consideration. 

So, be sure to check out what your local library has to offer in terms of FOREIGN LANGUAGE instruction. 

 

TWO: DUAL ENROLLMENT

Now, this one won’t be free BUT, if your student plans on attending college like mine, then it could be considered an investment.

{If you are not familiar with the concept of Dual Enrollment, here is a great article that explains it clearly.}

The gist of Dual Enrollment is that your high school homeschooler can take classes at the college level that count as both a current high school class but also as college credit.  It’s an excellent way to take schooling to the next level of rigor, expose your kid to the changes that college courses will bring while still under your roof, and accumulate college credits at a reduced cost. 

Obviously, much depends on which college you are considering for dual enrollment, but while I was perusing the catalog for Columbia College in search of history and literature classes for my son’s 11th Grade year, I ran across several FOREIGN LANGUAGE options. 

I did not look too closely {because I don’t think we’ll be interested in a college-level Chinese class, eeks!} but I did take note of it for future reference. 

So, if you have a college-bound kid who would be interested in taking some serious FOREIGN LANGUAGE classes, Dual Enrollment would be a fantastic option for you to consider!

 

THREE: ONLINE OPTIONS

This option is, in some ways, the most obvious out-of-the-box option. 

I’m sure you have seen ads for Outschool, which offers a bazillion different kinds of classes, including FOREIGN LANGUAGE. 

And, if you are familiar with VIPKID {a popular money-making gig for moms to teach English to Chinese kids,} then you may have heard of their Chinese-English counterpart, Lingo Bus. 

Or, if you are a fan of the Time4Learning app, there is also a Time4Langages add-on you can consider. 

But, there are some other less-obvious online options as well. They might be smaller, but that does not mean they are not high quality. 

For instance, if your student is interested in learning Spanish, Dale and Robin Gamache have a small “mom and pop” online company,  La Clase Divertida, that comes highly recommended. 

Or if your family is interested in learning Hebrew, a great option is Hebrew for Homeschoolers, which is the beautiful creation of a fellow homeschool mom, Ana Willis. 

So, if your student is in need of a FOREIGN LANGUAGE,  consider these

Three Out-of-the-Box Options:

ONE: YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY

TWO: DUAL ENROLLMENT

THREE: ONLINE OPTIONS

October’s Giveaway Wednesday offers an opportunity to win one of these out-of-the-box FOREIGN LANGUAGE options for your family! 

Hebrew for Homeschoolers will provide one reader a ten-week course designed for the entire family! 

Ana is a homeschool mom of 3, the blogger behind They Call Me Blessed and the creator of Hebrew for Homeschoolers. She is passionate about Hebrew for so many reasons. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, which provides for about 70% of the entire Bible. Jesus and His disciples read the Holy Scriptures and prayed in Hebrew daily. 

Hebrew is the best language to learn of all… no one can really understand Scripture without it.” – Martin Luther 

Hebrew is the language of Moses, King David, and so many heroes of our faith. Learning Hebrew brings you into a much deeper understanding of the Bible and strengthens your faith. 

Can you imagine you and your kids learning to read, write and speak the very language of Jesus and our heroes of the Bible spoke?

Here is what Hebrew for Homeschoolers for Beginners will teach you:

  • The Alef-Bet (Hebrew alphabet) 
  • Numbers 
  • Colors 
  • Shapes 
  • Greetings 
  • Basic vocabulary 
  • Biblical vocabulary 
  • Hebrew songs 

In only 10 weeks you and your children will be able to read, write and speak basic Hebrew! 

There are no other courses like Hebrew for Homeschoolers! 

  •  Classes are self-paced and last about 60 minutes.
  •  This course is geared to the whole family, from the youngest to the oldest in the family.
  •  You will have lifetime access to the course.
  •  And join our Facebook community for extra learning.

Enter below for your chance to win {Giveaway closes 10/25!}

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It is your responsibility to read the terms and conditions upon entering. By entering, all entrants understand that they are subject to being added to each of the participating blogger’s email lists.

Why Good Readers Can Be Bad Spellers

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I’m going to brag on my son for a second. But, don’t worry, it won’t last long because I will also admit an utterly embarrassing fail on my part as his mother. 

My son was reading at four years old. He was sounding out letters and CVC words at three and full on reading short chapter books at four.

There, that’s the bragging part. I told you it would be short. 

To say I was proud of him would be a bit of an  understatement.

To say I took his ability to read so early and mistook it for being an unusually intelligent and amazingly skilled child would be a MAJOR understatement.  

Seriously, as a mom, I was proud. As a certified teacher with a MAEd and  ten years of teaching First Graders to read, I was downright giddy.

And, for reasons I still cannot explain, I transferred that skill to ALL subjects and assumed he’d breeze through school and graduate with a PhD at the age of 12. 

Turns out, he was just a natural reader. He had an interest in letters and all things literacy from very early on. As soon as I noticed this about him, I definitely honed in on his interest with loads of books, games and activities. 

But all I was doing was adding to his own natural interest in and  “gift” for understanding the written word. I really didn’t do much. 

I cannot explain how he learned to read like he did. It just came naturally to him. 

But, guess what did NOT come naturally to him? 

SPELLING! 

Yeah. 

Like I said, when he was reading so easily at such an early age, I assumed all subjects would come easily for him.

{MATH was/is the worst subject….but this is a post about literacy so I’ve saved our looooooooooooooong math journey for another post, The Best Math Program for Kids Who Hate Math.}

But, boy, oh boy, was I wrong. 

He could read, read, read. And he could retain what he read. So, he excelled in several subjects and just soaked up history, Bible, science and literature as easily as he breathed air. 

But spelling?

Oh my gosh. Oh goodness gracious. The kid could not spell to save his life. At all. 

After loads of frustrations and lots of tears from both of us, it finally dawned on me what the issue was. 

I’m not kidding. It took YEARS for me to put this together. Did I mention that I was a certified teacher? Yeah. And I have a Masters in Education? Yup. 

But it took what seemed like forever for me to make the connection as to why a naturally good reader could be a horrible speller. 

But here it is….

Reading is the process of decoding words.

Decoding is just a fancy way of saying “how we apply what we know about letter sounds and  language patterns to figure out what words say.” 

Decoding is how we read. 

A more official definition would be: “Decoding is the ability to apply your knowledge of letter-sound relationships, including knowledge of letter patterns, to correctly pronounce written words. Understanding these relationships gives children the ability to recognize familiar words quickly and to figure out words they haven’t seen before.” 

So, my son could decode easily and,  more or less, instantly while looking at a word. 

What he could not do, apparently, was ENCODE. 

Encoding is the opposite of decoding. 

Encoding is using sounds to build and write words. 

Encoding is how we spell. 

And my son could not ENCODE. 

Why? Because he really had not mastered all of the letter/sound relationships. 

As soon as I saw how easily he could read, I ditched any plans to teach him to read. We just read and read and read. He read on his own. He read to me. We read together. I read to him.

{Side note: don’t EVER stop reading to your kids! They need that for several reasons.}

What we didn’t do was work on letter sounds, chunks, diphthongs, etc.

Why would we? He could read already!

Why would we? Because apparently you need those sounds to be able to spell! 

So, there. That’s my short brag and my embarrassing fail.

Now, let me tell you what we did to teach him to spell. 

We used All About Spelling. 

“Developed for busy parents, teachers, and tutors, All About Spelling is a scripted, open-and-go program that teaches spelling in the most effective way possible.”

We started at the beginning of their program with Level One {even though my son was a Fourth Grader at the time} and worked our way through. 

All About Spelling took us step by step through the individual letter sounds, phonograms, blends, spelling rules, open/closed/ r-controlled syllable types and so much more. 

All About Spelling taught my son how to spell. 

I won’t lie and say he is now an amazing speller because he’s not. 

Spelling simply does not come natural to him. He has to work at it.

But, now that we have been through the seven levels of All About Spelling, he has the knowledge of how to spell correctly, which he does. 

Most of the time anyway. 

If you are at all interested in All About Spelling, check out  this free e-book . It will give you a glimpse into the proven strategies that make All About Reading and All About Spelling so successful!

HOMESCHOOLING in KANSAS: the Basics

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{The term “homeschooling” has been a hotly debated topic for years and is even more so today. This article is not to debate what equates to “homeschooling” but to help define WHAT you want for your kids and HOW to get it.}

If you are in Kansas and thinking about homeschooling your kids this year, there are a few things you need to consider.

But, more importantly, you first need to understand the basics of the process.

Before all of this crazy COVID chaos, it was a lot easier to dissect the different homeschooling concepts but things have gotten rather murky with dozens of terms that seem to mean the same thing:

Distance Learning

On-line Options

Public-school at Home

Charter Crossovers

Hyrbid Schooling

Virtual Classroom

and more…..

But if you find yourself wanting to keep your kids at home for school, no matter which term is being used, you need to understand the basics. And the best way to understand the basics is to ask yourself a series of questions. 

The first question you need to ask yourself is:

Do I want to school at home WITH the help of my LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT?

If you want to keep your local district involved, then that’s where you need to go to get started. There are as many different virtual/distance learning/hybrid plans from the districts as there are districts in the state. So, if that’s what you want, you need to seek them out for help. Only they can help you with the details. 

But if you want to cut ties with the local district and not take part in what they are offering as an alternative to coming into the classroom, the next question you need to ask yourself is:

Do I want to partake in the free PUBLIC SCHOOL AT HOME option that is offered through the STATE OF KANSAS?

This has been available for years and you’ve probably seen it advertised on TV {K12 and Kansas Connections Academy are two I see most frequently.} This is free and available to any kids in the state of Kansas. You can head here or here to check out some options. This route will remove you from your district but keep you in the Kansas State Department of Education’s realm. There are a few “schools” from which you can choose. They provide the curriculum and, at least some, provide laptops for you to complete their curriculum. If that’s the route you want to take, check out those links. They will send you loads of information on how to get started. I personally know some families that have had great success with this route and I can put you in touch with a few if you’d like. Just let me know. 

But, if you said “no” to those two questions above, your final question is this:

Do I want to HOMESCHOOL WITHOUT ANY CONNECTION to the public school system?

If your answer to that is “yes,” then these are the steps you need to take:

STEP ONE: UNDERSTAND that the state of  Kansas does not officially recognize “homeschooling” as an option. No worries, though. They just call us “non-accredited private schools.” It’s totally legal and any competent adult can do it {seriously, that’s how they define who can teach your kids….”competent adult.”} You can find more info from KSDE here and you can read the statues here. 

STEP TWO: REGISTER with the Kansas State Department of Education as a non-accredited private school. It might sound daunting but it’s super duper simple. Go here to get that done.  All you need is your name, your address and the name of your homeschool. That’s all. You don’t even need your kids’ names, ages or grades. When it asks for “custodian,” that’s you. And you only need to do it ONE TIME. You do not need to do this every year. I did it in 2011 and haven’t visited the site since. 

THREE: WITHDRAW your kids from their public schools {assuming they attended previously.} I know this sounds daunting too, but it’s NOT! And don’t let the district bigwigs or local school secretaries freak you out. Just do it. Here is an example of a good withdrawal letter. You do not need to tell them anything else.  You can go here to see what you do and DO NOT need to tell the local school. Just withdraw your kids and move on. You are 100% within your legal rights to educate your kids at home in the state of Kansas {and every state for that matter.} 

FOUR: KNOW the requirements. Thankfully, in Kansas, the requirements are very few. No testing is required. No portfolio submissions needed. No curriculum approval process. No attendance is monitored. You can go here for an easy rundown on the requirements. But, believe me when I say it is very minimal. At the moment, in the state of Kansas, homeschoolers have a lot of freedom and luxury. It may not always be that way, but that’s the situation for now. 

FIVE: CHOOSE your curriculum. This is, by far, the most time-consuming step. And there is no way for anybody to tell you what will be right for your family. There are as many curriculum options as there are WalMarts in the country. Or more. This is where many families get overwhelmed and discouraged. The most important thing to remember is that whatever you choose to do, does NOT need to be forever. You can adjust as many times as you need to throughout the year. 

But, to get started, I would head over here and read about the learning styles of your kids. That will give you a good start and will, in the very least, help you eliminate several types of curricula.

I would also check out these two articles that discuss the various methods of homeschooling: How to Choose the Best Homeschool Teaching Method for Your Family and A Beginner’s Guide to Homeschooling. 

And this article offers a three step approach to deciding on curriculum and could really help you narrow things down. 

Another great resource is anything by Cathy Duffy. I have a couple of her books, which I loan out to potential homeschoolers all the time, but you can get a lot of her info online here {you can also buy her books there.} She has reviewed OODLES of homeschool curricula and does a great job of dividing things into helpful categories. She also outlines whether they are of a Christian, secular or neutral worldview. Using her resources should leave you with at least a few viable resources.

My last suggestion would be to reach out to both local homeschool groups and also national groups {which you can find plenty of online.} But, I would save that step for last. I’d arm myself with a wee bit of knowledge first and “arrive” in those groups with some specific questions. It’s really hard for veteran homeschoolers to answer “what’s the best way to homschool?” Why? Because, really, nobody can answer that but you…which, in truth, is the heart of homeschooling!

YOU GET TO DECIDE WHAT’S BEST FOR YOUR KIDS’ EDUCATION!

We know it takes a lot of time and energy to make the decisions necessary but, believe us, it will be worth it! 

The Many UNEXPECTED BENEFITS of a Homeschool Co-op {Two: FAILURES and FRUSTRATIONS}

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Both veteran and novice homeschoolers often wonder if a co-op is the right choice for their families. The topic is hotly debated in homeschool groups and within local communities.  It can even cause strife among friends and family members. But just like the decision to homeschool or not, the decision to participate in a co-op can only be made by each individual family.

Are you trying to decide whether to participate in a homeschool co-op? If so, this series is perfect for you! 

The Many Unexpected Benefits of a Homeschool Co-Op  explores the not-so-often discussed benefits that your family can gain by participating in a homeschool co-op. 

This installment of the series, 

FACING FAILURES and FRUSTRATIONS with YOUR KIDS, 

speaks to how a homeschool co-op can force us, as parents, to put our kids in situations that cause frustrations and feelings of failure. 

You’re probably wondering why I would suggest we do such a thing?

Why should we put our kids into situations that cause frustrations and feelings of failure?

Let me explain…

If you haven’t read the first installment in the series, you can find it here:

The Many Unexpected Benefits of a Homeschool Co-op: BRATS and BULLIES

 

As a parent, it is so easy to

indulge, 

coddle, 

cater to,

oblige, 

enable,

and even

spoil our kids.

Few of us will readily admit that we do this but we all know how easy it is to do!

We fix the food they like. 

We purchase clothes they will wear. 

We don’t force them to watch movies or read books they find scary.

We let them pick and choose in which sports/activities to participate.

And as homeschool parents, the opportunities to indulge, coddle, cater to, enable and spoil our kids are multiplied several times over.

We teach to their style.

We choose topics they like.

We allow them to work on the sofa.  

We let them wear pajamas all day long. 

We speed lessons up when the topic is easy.

We slow lessons down when they are struggling.

And, if they have a tantrum over math, we stop school for the day.

And then we make cookies together. 

And, why wouldn’t we? I mean, if we have the flexibility to allow our kids to experience the loveliest of days as often as possible, shouldn’t we?

I dare to say that probably many of us homeschool BECAUSE we want to create as many happy, peaceful, productive days for our kids as possible. 

But, as much as we may want to make their days as pleasant as possible, we cannot shield them from experiencing any unpleasantness at all. 

We just can’t. 

And, really,  we shouldn’t. 

Why? Because real life isn’t always pleasant and they need to know how to recognize, accept and respond to life’s unpleasant experiences. 

And FAILURES and FRUSTRATIONS are two of those unpleasant experiences that will occur throughout their lives.

And since our entire goal of parents should be to equip our kids with the necessary skills to live fulfilling, God-glorifying lives, we need to help them learn how to handle these frustrations now. 

So, why not create situations for them where they actually have to face FAILURES and FRUSTRATIONS with us  literally standing in their corners?

And the local homeschool co-op could be the perfect opportunity to do just that!

We were part of a local co-op for several years and during those years, we encountered

BRATS and BULLIES,

MAYHEM and MESSINESS, 

SEX TALK and SWEARWORDS,

and myriad of other life experiences.

And one of those others experiences that we encountered multiple times were feelings of FAILURE and FRUSTRATION. 

I’ll admit that the first time our son faced a FRUSTRATING experience at co-op {having to team up with an older, opinionated girl for an art activity,} I was tempted to swoop in and save the day. But, before I could make that mistake, his co-op teacher handled the situation by assessing the issue, encouraging communication and then closely monitoring that things were fine {and they were.}

And then, over the next few days,  my son and I talked about the experience and what had caused his FRUSTRATION. Because I was there to witness it, I was able to discuss it with him. He was able to explain that he hadn’t wanted to work with her because she’s “older, opinionated and a better artist” so he assumed he would have no say in the details of the project and, as is typical of young kids, he got FRUSTRATED before even giving the girl a chance. 

As hard as it was to watch his little five-year-old face furrow into an unhappy form with tears welling up, I am glad he had that FRUSTRATING experience at co-op. Why? Because it allowed him to learn something new about himself, his peers and life. I could not have created those same unequal collaborative circumstances for him at home. But our homeschool co-op certainly did!

And the FRUSTRATING experiences did not stop at that first one. There were many times he got FRUSTRATED over with which kids he had to work, for which assignments he was chosen,  how long he had to wait until his raised hand was recognized….but each one of those experiences allowed him the opportunity to grow and learn about himself and life in general. 

And when he experienced his first FAILURE at co-op {not being able to cut out several teeny tiny pieces for a music-themed lapbook,} I mostly wanted to {not-so-gently} tell the teacher who had planned the lesson that she had overestimated the scissor skills of her students. But, then I noticed that all of my son’s peers were able to accomplish the task without issue so I was wrong. She hadn’t misjudged anything; apparently we needed more practice with the scissors at home. 

So, that’s what we did. We worked on his scissor skills so he didn’t feel like a FAILURE the next week when he had to cut out more annoyingly teeny tiny pieces for another lapbook. And, I am so glad we did because, he definitely needed to work on those skills. But, I know myself and my tendency to avoid situations like that at home. So, I know I would not have made him face his lacking scissor skills at home because

he doesn’t enjoy projects like that, 

it’s not his learning style, 

and I hate lapbooks. 

{Side note: Am I the only homeschool mom on the planet who detests lapbooks? I get the purpose of being multi-sensory and all that, but they just require so much time-consuming, detailed work for one very specific topic. And for what? Where do you store them? You can’t display them. It’s not like a simple book that can be read over and over again. And all of the glued on pieces eventually fall off anyhow and the entire thing ends up in the trash.}

Other feelings of FAILURE occurred when he couldn’t tie his shoes fast enough in a relay, his classmate could not decipher his handwriting and his team lost at a math game. But witnessing those FAILURES allowed me to recognize things on which we needed to work at home. Observing my son in another setting {other than schooling at home} allowed me to view his progress with different eyes. 

FRUSTRATIONS and FAILURES like these occur in public school classrooms a thousand times each day,  but by the time most kids get home from school at 4:30pm, they’ve probably forgotten WHY they ever felt irritated and yet their little brains and hearts are still trying to process things.  So, they don’t mention it to Mom and they don’t try to explain it to anybody. They just act out and Mom chalks it up to the kid being tired, hungry or, worse yet, just ill-behaved.

And they don’t stop as our kids get older. In fact, dare I say they get worse? As our little ones grow into tweens and teens, ALL OF their feelings get more complicated so it’s probably safe to say their feelings of FRUSTRATIONS and FAILURES get more complicated too. And, now it’s not just that they don’t know how to formulate words for their feelings, they may not WANT to even try {because they’re teens and that’s what teens tends to do.}

FRUSTRATIONS and FAILURES like these also occur

at work, 

in college classes,

on community boards, 

within Bible Studies at church,

anywhere that people need to work together.

So, whether we like it or not, our kids WILL experience many FRUSTRATIONS and FAILURES in their lifetimes,  and therefore, need to know how to recognize, accept and respond to life’s unpleasant experiences. And they cannot learn how to do those things if they don’t have the opportunity to experience them. 

And since they don’t have the opportunity to face these FRUSTRATIONS and FAILURES in the public school setting, perhaps a homeschool co-op is the right choice for your family?

Click here for the next installment in this series, The Many Unexpected Benefits of a Homeschool Co-op: SWEARWORDS and INAPPROPRIATE SLANG

Want some help teaching your kids how to identify and be a good friend? Check out my Friendship and Virtues Lesson Plan Pack! It’s PERFECT for a Co-Op class!

 

How to Slow the SUMMER SLIDE

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{This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our Disclosure Policy for details.} 

SUMMER SLIDE is a phrase used to describe the slide backwards that many children make in reading and math skills over the summer break. 

When I was a classroom teacher, the SUMMER SLIDE was to be expected. And reviewing for several weeks in the fall in order to combat the SUMMER SLIDE was also to be expected. It’s common practice for classroom teachers to build in several weeks of review at the start of each new school year. Unfortunately, it is impossible to target each kid’s specific “slide issues” so, instead, entire classes receive the same review.  Sally might’ve slid back twelve steps in math and three steps in reading while Billy slid back two steps in math and twenty steps in reading. But both Billy and Sally {plus their twenty classmates} would have to sit through the same review lessons. 

But, one of the many benefits of homeschooling is that we don’t release our students into the wild summer with nothing but a library card and and our sincere hopes that they’ll do more than just watch TV, play video games and sleep late. We actually get to shape their schedules and continue to place expectations on their educations. 

But, unless our kids have no break in their school routines at all, homeschool kids are still prone to the SUMMER SLIDE. 

So, why not be purposeful in making sure our kids don’t lose too much over the summer break? Below are five of our top suggestions for slowing the SUMMER SLIDE. 

 

 

ONE: DO FUN UNIT STUDIES

This is always my favorite educational activity to do over the summer because we get to learn about all sorts of subjects, people and events that we didn’t have time for during the regular school year. The variety of unit studies that is available is endless and also fairly inexpensive. Plus, they are easy to add to/subtract from as fits your family’s needs and schedule. Teachers Pay Teachers has an enormous selection of unit studies on all sorts of subjects including some great current event topics including the 2020 Summer Olympics, the Presidential Election and Sharks! 

 

TWO: PLAY REVIEW GAMES

In order to keep school at least a wee bit fun during the school year, we try to play at least one educational game per week but, sadly,  the weekly game is always the first thing to get cut when we are running short of time. But, summer is the perfect time to be diligent about playing educational games. Whether you want to review math, science, spelling or history, there are several educational games that are both fun AND serve as a very purposeful review. Some of our favorites include Four Way Countdown {which covers all four mathematical operations so it’s perfect for nearly all ages/skill levels,} Game of the States {geography,} Wordical {spelling} and Totally Gross {science}.

 

THREE: SHARE a BACK & FORTH JOURNAL 

We’ve done this off and on for years and not only is it a fun way for my son to practice his least favorite subject, writing, it also provides us with a wonderful keepsake. You can make this super simple with a plain spiral notebook or much more elaborate with a fancy personalized journal. Either way, the concept is to have your child write to you about whatever he/she wants and then to for you to write back. This way, your kid is not only reading AND writing, he/she is doing it on a very personal level. And, as we know, the more personalized we can make the lesson, the more educational value will be found in it. My son, who is now 13 and HATES writing, truly loves when we do a back & forth journal. He especially loves asking me questions that I always take the time to answer and I love the fact that I have a precious journal to keep for the future. {Plus I seem to be able to show more interest in things like MineCraft, dragons and baseball through writing than I do in person.}

 

FOUR: FIND NEW SOURCES FOR RESOURCES

Sign your kids up for the summer reading program at the library. Or, finally look into their digital resources that you bookmarked in your web browser months ago {like me.} Do a deep dive into Netflix or Disney+ in search of a “new to you” educational series. Sign your kids up for an old fashioned magazine subscription or, instead,  a modern subscription box {I don’t even need to subscribe to anything….we can just dig out the 24 editions of Zoobooks my son has accumulated but hasn’t read yet.} I always have a stash of ideas that I wish we could get to but save “for when we have more time”. Well, summer is the perfect time to dig into that stash!

 

FIVE: USE LEFTOVER CURRICULUM PAGES

This is an idea that I came by accidentally but have used every year since I discovered it. As the school year winds down, I always go through all of our son’s work in order to finalize grades and organize things for storage. Inevitably, I discover incomplete pages amidst his finished work, additional practice pages in the rear of his textbooks, alternate test versions in the teacher’s manual and fun/trivial items that I purposely had him skip in the interest of time. All of these items make great review pages during the summer months. And because they tie in perfectly to what was just learned during the school year, they are not busy work, but rather purposeful pieces redesigned to serve as a review. 

What will you do with your kids to slow the SUMMER SLIDE? Let me know in the comments below!