Summer is a time for homeschoolers to explore the outdoors, get fresh air, relax, and even learn in new ways. Your homeschooler can thrive this summer and come back to the next grade without the need for an 8-week refresher course to relearn everything they have lost when you keep their mind engaged. If you want to thrive this summer and stay ready for the following school year, then include some of the next six tips into your summertime routine. They are a great way to keep kids learning for the summer.
Play Brain Games to Keep Kids Learning For the Summer
Playing brain games has a variety of benefits for your child. These include the ability to set goals or work out a strategy, motor skills, and confidence. Some studies even show that brain games help to improve your memory over time. If you don’t think your child will get on board with playing brain games this summer, you should explore the wide variety of brain games on the market. Brain games include:
- Minecraft
- Puzzles
- Logic puzzles
- Color by number
- Virtual Reading Escape Rooms
- Board and card games
- Some outdoor playsets
- Activity books
If you need more information on brain games and ideas on which games your child should play to get the most benefits this summer, then check out why brain games are essential!
Join DIY.org
DIY.org is another fun way to keep kids learning for the summer. Your homeschooler will love all the interactive lessons available on the site. After you make an account, your learner will have access to 1-4 live classes per day that they can join. These include gaming hours, history and science exploration lessons, art, music, and more. Along with the live classes, your learner will access a vast library of asynchronous educational content. I would equate DIY.org to the academic version of Netflix. While your child is working through the asynchronous content, they can post photos of their progress as a portfolio of their work. Other kids can comment, like, and interact through the program.
Spend Time Outside
Summer is the best season to spend lots of time outside, soaking up all of that vitamin D. Along with getting a pool, you can go on hikes, scavenger hunts, or even bike rides to keep your homeschoolers entertained. Mommy Daughter Love has a free printable scavenger hunt worksheet for girls that you can download (no email required).
Set Up an Outdoor Field Lab
If you want your summer to be more constructive and scientific, you can set up an outdoor field lab in your backyard. National Geographic Kids have a wide variety of scientific instruments for kids to use, from digital microscopes to analyze small finds to geodes. The digital microscope is super cool because you don’t need to mess with the slides to see things up close. Your homeschooler can look at living bugs and other creatures without harming them. However, the set does come with slides, so you can set up other things you might find outside. Since it works both ways, it is the best deal on the market for kids right now. If you have a digital microscope in your outdoor field lab, it might be nice if you also had a flat surface to set everything up on. With the digital microscope, you can look closely at the national geographic geode and rock sets.
This is an awesome portable kids microscope.
Busting up geodes is a fun activity for kids because you never know what kinds of cool colors and crystals you will find inside. The national geographic rock set comes with ten geodes, some stands, and goggles so that your learner can protect their eyes.
You can also grab your learner a fun and girly field journal from M&D Co. This super fun notebook comes with 1/4th inch graph paper on the inside, just like a lab notebook.
The Off the Grid Lab notebook is perfect for your child’s scientific discoveries. It contains graphing paper just like a proper lab notebook. Plus the cover is girly and fun!
Take Time to Read Every Day
Your learner should take time to read every single day. In fact, daily reading is the perfect way to keep kids learning for the summer. You could join a summer reading program or even keep a summer reading log! If you need a free summer reading log printable to keep track of your child’s books, Mommy Daughter Love has you covered.
The Gopher Goes Gaga for Grubs is a fun easy reader for kids. It is also an outdoor and garden-themed book that is perfect for summer. If you need more summer recommendations, check out our full list of summer-themed easy readers!
Routine is Important
Finally, routine is essential for kids, even in the summertime. While they may want to swim in the pool all day, play outside all day, or game on Minecraft for a large portion of it, you should have a wide variety of activities going all summer long to keep kids learning for summer. Start your day with a delightful breakfast, integrate live sessions from Outschool or DIY.org into your routine for social interaction, and have a wide variety of brain games or learning activities available to your child each day. Finally, don’t forget to read. As a homeschool parent, you can look at summer as simply just another kind of “homeschool routine”. Instead of being a highly structured learning routine, it can be a fun learning routine, but the routine never goes away.
Keep Kids Learning All Summer Long
By keeping your homeschooler learning all summer long, you keep their mind active for the next school year. This makes it easier for them to jump back in strong. It also makes it easier on you because you don’t have to refresh so much of the last school year’s activities. So fill your young learners’ day with brain games, outdoor time, live sessions from DIY.org or Outschool, and daily reading. If you need some awesome easy readers that are quick and fun, check out a variety of pink glittery books by Brie Wetherby.
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